Screening and classification of rosehip (Rosa canina L.) genotypes based on horticultural characteristics.

BACKGROUND: During the pandemic, the interest in colorful wild small fruits increased due to their positive effects on health. Also it has become very important to offer species with high nutritional value as fresh or processed products for human consumption due to increasing world population and decreasing arable land. In this context, we characterized the horticultural characteristics of 11 rosehip genotypes grown from seeds. RESULTS: Citric acid was determined as the main organic acid in all the genotypes investigated. The mean values of the organic acids obtained from all the genotypes were found to be as follows: citric acid (7177 mg L-1), malic acid (3669 mg L-1), tartaric acid (1834 mg L-1), oxalic acid (1258 mg L-1), carboxylic acid (631.9 mg L-1), shikimic acid (157.8 mg L-1), ascorbic acid (155 mg L-1), and acetic acid (20.9 mg L-1). Ellagic acid was the dominant phenolic compound (90.1 mg L-1 - 96.2 mg L-1) in all genotypes. The average values obtained from all genotypes for total phenolics, total flavonoids, and antioxidant activity were 37 261 mg GAE L-1, 526.2 mg quercetin L-1, and 93.6%, respectively. These characteristics had the lowest coefficients of variation, which indicated that all genotypes were similar regarding high biochemical with antioxidant effect. In addition, fruit width, fruit length, and fruit weight varied between 13.0 and 17.3 mm, 20.7 and 25.5 mm, and 1.4 and 2.7 g, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The genotypes were categorized according to different purposes, such as suitability for wine production, making vinegar, etc. While the pomological characteristics were strongly positively correlated among themselves, they were generally found to be negatively correlated with the phytochemical characteristics. Categorizing genotypes according to different usage purposes can improve the agricultural and industrial application of rosehip and enhance their breeding efficacy.

Screening of Naturally Grown European Cranberrybush (Viburnum opulus L.) Genotypes Based on Physico-Chemical Characteristics.

It has become very important to offer species with high nutritional value as fresh or processed products for human consumption in their daily diet for balanced nutrition. In the scope of this study, 15 naturally grown European Cranberry bush (ECB) genotypes that naturally grown were characterized in terms of horticultural characteristics. Fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight, the number of fruits per each cluster and cluster weight were determined within the ranges of 8.78−10.96 mm, 7.93−10.84 mm, 0.21−0.70 g, 31−121, and 7.70−66.67 g, respectively. Ranking of the average values of examined organic acids obtained from all genotypes found as; malic acid (11,419 mg L−1) > citric acid (1926 mg L−1) > ascorbic acid (581 mg L−1) > oxalic acid (561 mg L−1). Total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC) were found at high levels in ECB with 2922−3475 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE) L−1 and 1463−3163 mg quercetin equivalents (QE) L−1, respectively. While pomological characteristics were found to be highly positive correlated with each other, they were negatively correlated with chemical properties. Low pH was found to be an important parameter to obtain higher amounts of phytochemicals such as TPC, TFC, organic and phenolic acids correlated with strong antioxidant effects. The obtained results will be useful for both germplasm enrichment and cultivation.

Horticultural Characteristics of Summer Apple Cultivars from Turkey.

Early varieties with a short active vegetation period are not exposed to abiotic stress factors for instance drought, high temperature, etc., caused by global climate change, and biotic stress factors such as codling moth (Cydia pomonella) and apple scab (Venturia inequalis) that cause serious economic losses. Therefore, their places are extremely important regarding sustainable, economical and quality production. In this context, four early varieties of apple ('Vista Bella', 'Summer Red', 'Williams Pride' and 'Jersey Mac') grown in Eskisehir-Turkey where has continental climate were characterized in terms of horticultural characteristics. The difference observed in flowering and harvest times between years showed that average air temperatures are essential on phenological characteristics. Furthermore, high temperature accelerates development physiology of fruit. Major important characteristics, namely, fruit length, width, weight, soluble solid content, antioxidant activity, vitamin C and total phenolic content were found in the range of 39.19-50.88 mm, 51.48-60.81 mm, 80.59-86.16 g, 11.87-12.19%, 50.69-80.57%, 2.24-4.79 mg 100 mL-1 and 259.23-871.42 mg GAE (gallic acid equivalent) L-1, respectively. 'Summer Red' and 'Williams Pride' varieties were found to be good in terms of pomological characteristics, while 'Vista Bella' came to the fore with its chemical properties. On the other hand, 'Jersey Mac' has shown superior performance in terms of both pomological and chemical characteristics. Pomological characteristics are affected more by ecological differences, while chemical characteristics vary according to the changes in the pomological properties. Pomological characteristics were found to have a significant positive correlation with each other but negatively correlated with chemical characteristics.