Potential of sustained deficit irrigation to enhance biological and nutritional quality of pomegranate fruit during storage.

BACKGROUND: While water availability is important for quality at harvest, it also continues to influence the quality of pomegranates during storage. Reducing the amount of irrigation, in addition to water saving has different effects on bioactive compounds of pomegranate during storage time. This study was conducted to determine the influence of irrigation level on fruit quality changes during storage period of two commercial Iranian pomegranate cultivars ('Shishecap' and 'Malas-Yazdi'). Sustained deficit irrigation (SDI) was applied to plants that received 75% (moderate stress) or 50% (severe stress) of their normal water requirement. A control group received 100% of their water requirement. RESULTS: At harvest time and during storage period, fruit weight loss and some biochemical traits such as fruit total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, total phenolic compounds (TPC), total anthocyanins content (TAC), antioxidant activity and vitamin C were measured in pomegranate fruits. Also, the quantity of the produced product was also measured at the time of harvesting. Results indicated that control fruits exhibited more weight loss than those produced under water deficit during the storage period in both years. According to results, fruit TSS, TAC, and antioxidant activity significantly increased during storage period but fruit TA and vitamin C significantly decreased throughout storage period. Also, reduction in irrigation level resulted in a decline in the yield. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed a crucial link between irrigation level and the quality of pomegranate fruits, despite a reduction in the yield. This included affecting weight loss and the content of bioactive compounds, both at harvest and during storage.

Reverse 4-Flanged Technique for Intrascleral Fixation of a Foldable Hydrophobic Intraocular Lens in the Absence of Capsular Support Through a 2.2-mm Corneal Incision.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to describe a modified technique for sutureless intrascleral intraocular lens fixation in patients without capsular support: the reverse 4-flanged technique. METHODS: A 2.2-mm corneal incision was made for aphakic patients. The 6-0 polypropylene sutures were threaded through a 30-gauge needle outside the eye. An MDJ injector was employed to insert the intraocular lens into the eye. A suture-needle snare with 7-0 polypropylene was used to exteriorize the superior end of the sutures through the sclerotomy. The 6-0 polypropylene was heated with a cautery to create the flanges. RESULTS: Nine eyes of nine patients underwent the reverse 4-flanged technique. The median follow-up time was 182 days (range 174-195). Best-corrected distance visual acuity improved from 20/400 [hand movement-20/33] to 20/120 [20/400-20/21]. No vitreous hemorrhage, retinal detachment, endophthalmitis, intraocular lens luxation, or flange exposure was recorded during the follow-up. CONCLUSION: The reverse 4-flanged technique maintains the advantages of the original 4-flanged technique in terms of intraocular lens stability while reducing the incision size and surgical maneuvers performed inside the eye. This modification promises to be a reliable, safe, and relatively simple technique to correct aphakia in the absence of capsular support.

Melatonin as an Efficient and Eco-Friendly Tool to Increase Yield and to Maintain Quality Attributes during Lemon Storage.

Lemon fruit (Citrus limon (L.) Burm.) is highly appreciated by consumers due to its antioxidant properties and health benefits. However, its shelf life can be limited by various factors, reducing the economy, and thereafter, new strategies to maintain the quality of lemons are necessary. Melatonin is a derivative of tryptamine, which is ubiquitously found in plants and has a wide range of functions regulating numerous physiological processes in plants. During two consecutive harvests, we evaluated the effect of preharvest treatments with melatonin on crop yield and on quality and functional properties of fruit of lemon cv. Verna at harvest and weekly after storage up to 28 days at 2 and 10 °C plus 2 days at 20 °C. Melatonin was applied as foliar spray treatments at dosages of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 mM and at three different stages of fruit development. The results showed that melatonin treatment had a positive impact on crop yield as well as in fruit quality parameters, such as firmness, content of bioactive compounds, and antioxidant activity, especially for a 0.5 mM dose. Taking all these effects into account, the application of melatonin along the growth cycle of fruit development could be considered a non-contaminant and eco-friendly tool for improving crop yield and quality of 'Verna' lemons at harvest and during postharvest storage.

Preharvest Elicitors as a Tool to Enhance Bioactive Compounds and Quality of Both Peel and Pulp of Yellow Pitahaya (Selenicereus megalanthus Haw.) at Harvest and during Postharvest Storage.

Yellow pitahaya is a tropical fruit that has gained popularity in recent years. Natural elicitors are compounds that can stimulate the resistance and quality of fruits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of natural elicitors, methyl salicylate (MeSa), methyl jasmonate (JaMe), salicylic acid (SA) and oxalic acid (OA) at concentrations of 0.1 mM (MeSa and JaMe) and 5 mM (SA and OA), applied to the yellow pitahaya fruits under greenhouse conditions. After full blossom, four applications were made with a frequency of 15 days. At the time of harvest and after storage, the following variables were evaluated: firmness (whole fruit), total soluble solids (TSS), total acidity (TA), phenolics and carotenoids (in the pulp), while phenolics, carotenoids, macronutrients and micronutrients were determined in the peel. The results showed MeSa advanced the fruit maturation, according to higher TSS, lower TA and firmness than MeJa-treated fruits, for which a delayed ripening process was shown. All treatments induced a higher polyphenolic concentration during storage. Regarding the alternative use of the peel as a by-product, the application of natural elicitors significantly increased the content of polyphenols, carotenoids, macronutrients and micronutrients in the peel, especially MeSa, which can be used as a bioactive compound in the food industry. In conclusion, the results indicate that natural elicitors can be an alternative to improve the quality and shelf life of yellow pitahaya fruits.

Splenic Artery Embolization for Unstable Patients with Splenic Injury: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

PURPOSE: To compare the outcomes of splenic artery embolization (SAE) for acute splenic injury (ASI) between patients who are hemodynamically stable (HDS) and hemodynamically unstable (HDU). Nonoperative management with SAE has become an accepted practice for patients who are HDS with ASI; however, SAE for the treatment of patients who are HDU with ASI has not been well studied. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was performed, including 52 patients who were HDU and HDS who underwent SAE for ASI at a Level 1 trauma center. HDU was defined as the lowest recorded systolic blood pressure prior to intervention <90 mm Hg. Utilizing the American Association for Surgery of Trauma (AAST) splenic injury scale, AAST Grades 1-3 were defined as low grade, and Grades 4-5 were defined as high grade. The primary outcomes were survival at 30 days and the need for subsequent splenectomy. RESULTS: Seventy-five percent (n = 39) of the patients were HDS, and 25% (n = 13) were HDU. The majority (69%) of patients who were HDU who underwent SAE did not require splenectomy, compared with 95% of patients who were HDS (P = .03). No significant difference in 30-day survival between patients who were HDU and HDS was noted. No major adverse events were recorded. There was no significant difference in 30-day patient survival or the rate of subsequent splenectomy between high-grade and low-grade splenic injuries. CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective cohort study, there was no statistically significant difference in the adverse events or 30-day post-SAE survival rates between patients who were HDS and HDU with ASI. The authors conclude that SAE can be a safe and effective treatment option for patients who are HDU with ASI, including high-grade splenic injury.

Melatonin Treatments Reduce Chilling Injury and Delay Ripening, Leading to Maintenance of Quality in Cherimoya Fruit.

Spain is the world's leading producer of cherimoya, a climacteric fruit highly appreciated by consumers. However, this fruit species is very sensitive to chilling injury (CI), which limits its storage. In the present experiments, the effects of melatonin applied as dipping treatment on cherimoya fruit CI, postharvest ripening and quality properties were evaluated during storage at 7 °C + 2 days at 20 °C. The results showed that melatonin treatments (0.01, 0.05, 0.1 mM) delayed CI, ion leakage, chlorophyll losses and the increases in total phenolic content and hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidant activities in cherimoya peel for 2 weeks with respect to controls. In addition, the increases in total soluble solids and titratable acidity in flesh tissue were also delayed in melatonin-treated fruit, and there was also reduced firmness loss compared with the control, the highest effects being found for the 0.05 mM dose. This treatment led to maintenance of fruit quality traits and to increases in the storage time up to 21 days, 14 days more than the control fruit. Thus, melatonin treatment, especially at 0.05 mM concentration, could be a useful tool to decrease CI damage in cherimoya fruit, with additional effects on retarding postharvest ripening and senescence processes and on maintaining quality parameters. These effects were attributed to a delay in the climacteric ethylene production, which was delayed for 1, 2 and 3 weeks for 0.01, 0.1 and 0.05 mM doses, respectively. However, the effects of melatonin on gene expression and the activity of the enzymes involved in ethylene production deserves further research.

Antioxidant Systems and Quality in Sweet Cherries Are Improved by Preharvest GABA Treatments Leading to Delay Postharvest Senescence.

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) plays important roles in plant development, including the maintenance of fruit quality when applied as postharvest treatment. However, little information is available about the effects of preharvest GABA treatments. Thus, GABA (10, 50 and 100 mM) was applied as foliar spray at key points of fruit development in three sweet cherry cultivars and over two years. The results show that quality parameters, such as total soluble solid content, titratable acidity and firmness were higher in the fruit from GABA-treated trees than in the controls, either at harvest or during four weeks of cold storage. In addition, the total phenolic and total and individual anthocyanin concentrations were also enhanced by GABA treatments and the fruit color was improved. The activities of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, ascorbate peroxidase and peroxidase were also enhanced by the GABA treatments. The most effective concentration was 50 mM, which led to extending the storage period of sweet cherries with high quality traits to up to four weeks, while for the controls this was two weeks. Thus, GABA treatment had a clear effect on delaying the postharvest ripening and senescence processes in sweet cherries, with an additional effect on enhancing the content of bioactive compounds, such as phenolics and anthocyanins, with antioxidant properties and health benefits.

Anthocyanin in blood oranges: a review on postharvest approaches for its enhancement and preservation.

Anthocyanin concentration is considered an important fruit quality index of blood oranges and has gained popularity among consumers due to its antioxidant capacity, therapeutic properties, and prevention of some human diseases. Anthocyanin biosynthesis occurs in the cytoplasmic face of the endoplasmic reticulum by multi-enzymes complexes through the flavonoid pathway. Polyphenoloxidase (PPO) and ß-glucosidase (anthocyanase) are the enzymes responsible for anthocyanin degradation. Blood oranges are cold-dependent for anthocyanin biosynthesis and accumulation, and thus, the low temperature of storage can enhance anthocyanin concentration and improve internal fruit quality. In addition, anthocyanin accumulation can be accelerated by postharvest technologies, either physical treatments or chemical elicitors. However, low temperatures can induce chilling injury (CI) incidence in blood oranges. Postharvest chemical elicitors treatments can enhance anthocyanin accumulation and prevent CI. This review provides the most updated information about postharvest tools modulating the anthocyanin content, and the role of enhancing and preserving pigmentation to produce blood orange with the highest quality standards.

Thymol Encapsulated into HP-ß-Cyclodextrin as an Alternative to Synthetic Fungicides to Induce Lemon Resistance against Sour Rot Decay.

Consumers demand the use of eco-friendly fungicides to treat fruit and vegetables and governmental authorities have unauthorized the application of chemical antifungals for the efficient control of sour rot. In the present research, the microwave irradiation (MW) method was used to encapsulate thymol into 2-hydroxylpropyl-beta-cyclodextrin (HP-ß-CD) and the effect of these HP-ß-CD on controlling sour rot in citrus fruit, caused by Geotrichum citri-aurantii, was evaluated. Amounts of 25 and 50 mM of HP-ß-CD-thymol were used, and compared with propiconazole, to control the decay of inoculated lemon fruit. The treatments were performed in curative and preventive experiments. The incidence and severity of Geotrichum citri-aurantii in 25 and 50 mM HP-ß-CD-thymol-treated fruit were reduced in both experiments. The preventive 50 mM HP-ß-CD-thymol treatment showed the best effect, reducing the sour rot, respiration rate and fruit weight loss during storage at 20 °C. HP-ß-CD-thymol increased polyphenol concentration and the activity of antioxidant enzymes, such as catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and peroxidase (POD) in lemon peel, and the highest effects were found with the 50-mM dose. In conclusion, the results show that the use of thymol encapsulated by MW into HP-ß-CD could be an effective and sustainable tool, a substitute to the synthetic fungicides, for G. citri-auriantii control in citrus fruit.

Preharvest application of methyl jasmonate increases crop yield, fruit quality and bioactive compounds in pomegranate 'Mollar de Elche' at harvest and during postharvest storage.

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have addressed the effectiveness of postharvest methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatments on maintaining quality properties of pomegranate fruit during storage. However, there is no literature regarding the effects of preharvest MeJA treatments on pomegranate 'Mollar de Elche' crop yield, fruit ripening, quality attributes and bioactive compounds content (at harvest or after long-term storage), which were evaluated in this research. RESULTS: Preharvest MeJA treatments (1, 5, and 10 mmol L-1 ) increased pomegranate crop yield. MeJA at 1 and 5 mmol L-1 accelerated the on-tree ripening process, while it was delayed with 10 mmol L-1 . Losses in fruit weight, firmness and organic acids during storage at 10 °C were delayed in MeJA treated fruit, leading to quality maintenance. In addition, MeJA treatments improved arils colour due to increased concentration of total and individual anthocyanins, at harvest and during storage. Total phenolic and ascorbic acid contents and total antioxidant activity [hydrophilic (H-TAA) and lipophilic (L-TAA) fractions] were also higher in arils from treated pomegranate fruits than in controls. CONCLUSION: Preharvest treatments with MeJA could be a promising tool to improve pomegranate crop yield, fruit quality and its content in bioactive compounds at harvest and during storage. The higher effects were obtained with MeJA at 5 mmol L-1 dose, which could be the selected treatment for practical application purposes. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Oxalic acid preharvest treatment increases antioxidant systems and improves plum quality at harvest and during postharvest storage.

BACKGROUND: Plums are much appreciated by consumers as fresh fruit but have a limited storage life. Since reactive oxygen species (ROS) are associated with fruit ripening, an increase in ROS scavenging antioxidant systems could lead to a delay in postharvest plum ripening and in maintaining fruit quality after long cold storage. RESULTS: Results showed that crop yield (kg per tree) and fruit weight were enhanced by preharvest oxalic acid (OA) treatment of plum cultivars ('Black Splendor' and 'Royal Rosa'), although the on-tree ripening process was delayed. In addition, the ripening process during cold storage was delayed in plums from OA-treated tress, manifested by lower firmness and acidity losses and reduced ethylene production, as compared with fruits from control trees. Antioxidant compounds (phenolics, anthocyanins and carotenoids) and the activity of antioxidant enzymes were higher in plums from OA-treated trees than in controls, at harvest and during 50 days of cold storage. CONCLUSION: OA preharvest treatment could be a useful tool to maintain plum quality properties during long-term storage, by delaying the postharvest ripening process through a delay in ethylene production, with an additional effect on increasing bioactive compounds with health beneficial effects. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Postharvest treatments with γ-aminobutyric acid, methyl jasmonate, or methyl salicylate enhance chilling tolerance of blood orange fruit at prolonged cold storage.

BACKGROUND: Blood orange is sensitive to chilling injury (CI) depending on cultivar and storage temperature. Postharvest treatments with γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), or methyl salicylate (MeSA) are known to alleviate CI. γ-Aminobutyric acid aqueous solution, applied at 20 and 40 mM, was vacuum-infiltrated at 30 kPa for 8 min at 20 °C. Methyl jasmonate or MeSA vapor treatments were applied separately at 50 and 100 µM by putting the fruit in 20 L plastic containers for 18 h at 20 °C. There have been no reports about postharvest treatments of GABA, MeJA, or MeSA on enhancing the tolerance of 'Moro' blood orange to chilling during long-term cold storage at 3 °C for 150 days, which was the subject of this study. RESULTS: All treatments significantly alleviated CI symptoms of blood orange manifested by lower electrolyte leakage (EL), malondialdehyde (MDA), hydrogen peroxide (H2 O2 ) concentrations, and higher proline content in flavedo during storage. The largest effects were obtained with 100, 50 µM, and 40 mM for MeSA, MeJA, and GABA, respectively, which enhanced the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). On the other hand, these treatments suppressed peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities. CONCLUSION: The mechanisms involved in enhancing the tolerance of 'Moro' blood orange to chilling could involve scavenging H2 O2 by increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes, higher PAL/PPO activity ratio, and osmoregulation by increasing proline content. These changes led to the maintenance of the epidermis structure. This was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Pre-harvest methyl jasmonate treatments increase antioxidant systems in lemon fruit without affecting yield or other fruit quality parameters.

BACKGROUND: Jasmonic acid (JA) and its volatile derivative methyl jasmonate (MeJA) are hormones involved in the regulation of many processes in plants and act (when applied as a post- or pre-harvest treatment) to increase fruit bioactive compounds with antioxidant potential. However, there is no literature available regarding the effect of pre-harvest MeJA treatment on lemon fruit antioxidant systems, which was the aim of the present study. RESULTS: MeJA treatment (0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mmol L-1 ) increased antioxidant compounds, such as phenolics, in the juice and flavedo of 'Fino' and 'Verna' lemons at harvest, with the most effective concentration being 0.1 mmol L-1 in both cultivars. In addition, catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) activities were also increased by MeJA treatment, with the highest increases being also found with 0.1 mmol L-1 . The increases in APX and CAT were maintained from one treatment to another during fruit development on the tree, whereas the increase on POD disappeared after 8-10 days of each treatment. For both antioxidant systems, the highest increases were found in lemon harvested at the commercial ripening stage. By contrast, crop yield, fruit ripening process and quality parameters were generally not affected by MeJA treatment. CONCLUSION: Preharvest MeJA treatment could be a useful tool for increasing antioxidant potential and the health beneficial effects of lemon fruit consumption, given the relationship between these properties and phenolic content. Moreover, the increased concentration of phenolics and the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the flavedo of MeJA treated fruit could increase lemon tolerance to chilling injury and decay during postharvest storage. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.

Preharvest treatments with salicylates enhance nutrient and antioxidant compounds in plum at harvest and after storage.

BACKGROUND: Previous reports have addressed the effectiveness of salicylic acid (SA), acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and methylsalicylate (MeSA) postharvest treatments on maintaining quality properties during storage in several commodities. However, there is no literature regarding the effect of preharvest treatments with salicylates on plum quality attributes (at harvest or after long-term cold storage), which was evaluated in this research. RESULTS: At harvest, weight, firmness, individual organic acids, sugars, phenolics, anthocyanins and total carotenoids were found at higher levels in plums from SA-, ASA- and MeSA-treated trees than in those from controls. During storage, softening, colour changes and acidity losses were delayed in treated fruits as compared to controls. In addition, organic acids and antioxidant compounds were still found at higher levels in treated than in control plums after 40 days of storage. Results show a delay in the postharvest ripening process due to salicylate treatments, which could be attributed to their effect in delaying and decreasing ethylene production. CONCLUSION: Preharvest treatment with salicylates could be a safety, eco-friendly and new tool to improve (at harvest) and maintain (during storage) plum quality and especially its content of bioactive compounds with antioxidant properties, increasing the health effects of plum consumption. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Modulatory Effects of Exogenously Applied Polyamines on Postharvest Physiology, Antioxidant System and Shelf Life of Fruits: A Review.

Polyamines (PAs) are natural compounds involved in many growth and developmental processes in plants, and, specifically in fruits, play a vital role regulating its development, ripening and senescence processes. Putrescine (PUT), spermine (SPE), and spermidine (SPD) are prominent PAs applied exogenously to extend shelf life of fruits. They also originate endogenously during developmental phases of horticultural crops and simultaneously affect the quality attributes and shelf life. Their anti-ethylene nature is being exploited to enhance the shelf life when exogenously applied on fruits. In growth and development of fruits, PA levels generally fall, which marks the beginning of senescence at postharvest phase. PUT, SPE and SPD treatments are being applied during postharvest phase to prolong the shelf life. They enhance the shelf life of fruits by reducing respiration rate, ethylene release and enhance firmness and quality attributes in fruits. PAs have a mitigating impact on biotic and abiotic stresses including chilling injury (CI) in tropical and sub-tropical fruits. PAs are environment friendly in nature and are biodegradable without showing any negative effect on environment. Biotechnological interventions by using chimeric gene constructs of PA encoding genes has boosted the research to develop transgenic fruits and vegetables which would possess inherent or in situ mechanism of enhanced biosynthesis of PAs at different stages of development and thereby will enhance the shelf life and quality in fruits. Internal and external quality attributes of fruits are improved by modulation of antioxidant system and by strengthening biophysical morphology of fruits by electrostatic interaction between PAs and phospholipids in the cell wall.

Enhancement of Antioxidant Systems and Storability of Two Plum Cultivars by Preharvest Treatments with Salicylates.

In this research the effect of salicylic acid (SA), acetylsalicylic acid (ASA), and methylsalicylate (MeSA) treatments, applied as a foliar spray during on-tree plum development, on fruit quality attributes, bioactive compounds, antioxidant activity, and the activity of the antioxidant enzymes at harvest and after long-term cold storage was evaluated in two plum cultivars ("Black Splendor", BS, and "Royal Rosa", RR). At harvest, plum quality parameters, such as weight, total phenolics (including anthocyanins, in BS), total carotenoids, and antioxidant activity, in both hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds were found at higher levels in plums from SA-, ASA-, and MeSA-treated trees than in those from control trees. During storage, fruit firmness, total acidity, and antioxidant compounds were at higher levels in treated, than in control, plums, which show an effect of salicylate treatments on delaying the plum postharvest ripening process. In addition, the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) were also enhanced at the time of harvest in salicylate-treated plums as compared with plums from control trees. The activity of these antioxidant enzymes was also found at higher levels in salicylate-treated plums during storage. Thus, preharvest treatment with salicylates could be a safe, eco-friendly, and new tool to improve and maintain plum quality attributes, and especially their content of antioxidant compounds, with an additional effect on delaying the postharvest ripening process through increasing the levels of antioxidant compounds and the activity of the antioxidant enzymes.

Preharvest salicylic acid and acetylsalicylic acid treatments preserve quality and enhance antioxidant systems during postharvest storage of sweet cherry cultivars.

BACKGROUND: Sweet cherries are much appreciated by consumers as a result of their organoleptic quality attributes and antioxidant properties, although they deteriorate rapidly after harvest. Different preharvest strategies have been carried out to increase their quality at the time of harvest. We present data regarding the effect of preharvest salicylic acid (SA) and acetyl salicylic acid (ASA) treatments on sweet cherry quality during postharvest storage. RESULTS: At harvest and during postharvest storage, sweet cherry fruits ('Sweet Heart', 'Sweet Late' and 'Lapins') from SA (0.5 mmol L-1 ) and ASA (1 mmol L-1 ) treated trees had a higher colour (lower chroma index), firmness, total soluble solids, total phenolics, total anthocyanins and hydrophilic total antioxidant activity. In addition, the activity of the antioxidant enzymes catalase, peroxidase, superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase was also enhanced in SA- and ASA-treated cherries. CONCLUSION: Both SA and ASA preharvest treatments could be promising tools for improving sweet cherry quality at harvest and after storage, with an additional effect on delaying the postharvest ripening process by increasing the levels of antioxidant compounds and the activity of the antioxidant enzymes. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Postharvest biology and technology of pomegranate.

Pomegranate is a subtropical and tropical fruit of great importance from a health point of view. Despite increasing consumer awareness of the health benefits of pomegranate, consumption of the fruit is still limited owing to poor postharvest handling, storage recommendations, short shelf life and quality deterioration during transportation, storage and marketing. The occurrence of physiological disorders such as husk scald, splitting and chilling injury is another challenge reducing marketability and consumer acceptance. Recently, notable work on postharvest biology and technology has been done. Pomegranate is highly sensitive to low-oxygen (<5 kPa) atmospheres, chilling injury and decay. One of the major problems associated with pomegranate fruit is excessive weight loss, which may result in hardening of the husk and browning of the rind and arils. To reduce chilling injury incidence and to extend storability and marketing of pomegranates, good results were obtained with polyamine, heat, salicylic acid, methyl jasmonate or methyl salicylate treatments prior to cold storage. This article reviews the maturity indices, changes during maturation and ripening, postharvest physiology and technology of pomegranate fruit as well as the various postharvest treatments for maintaining fruit quality.

Urban Flood Drifters (UFDs): Onset of movement.

Despite their catastrophic implications in flood events, the mobilization and transport of large, loose objects -termed Urban Flood Drifters (UFDs)- are often overlooked in flood management. These objects are inherent to anthropogenic activities, but are not designed to remain stable under flooding conditions, nor are usually considered in flood risk studies. This oversight stems from our limited understanding of how flowing water interacts with these heterogeneous objects. To bridge this knowledge gap, we introduce a mechanistic stability model that predicts the onset of UFD mobilization across a diverse array of loose objects, from plastics to heavy vehicles. We further enhance the reliability of our model by incorporating a Monte Carlo-based probabilistic framework that accounts for uncertainties and interdependencies among the input parameters. Our results show that plastic and other litter are the most mobile objects found in urban setups, being subject to incipient transport under frequent floods. These are followed by wood (anthropogenic or natural) and urban furniture. Vans, caravans and recreational vehicles (RVs) can be more mobile than other light-weight vehicles in low-gradient areas, whereas trucks and buses remain considerably more stable; although more hazardous, when mobilized. Construction and metal debris are predominantly stable in low-slope areas. When integrated with flood maps or two-dimensional (2D) hydrodynamic models, our stability curves can guide urban planning efforts to predict and mitigate the impacts of UFDs during extreme flood events.

On the vertical structure of non-buoyant plastics in turbulent transport.

Plastic pollution is overflowing in rivers. A limited understanding of the physics of plastic transport in rivers hinders monitoring, the prediction of plastic fate and restricts the implementation of effective mitigation strategies. This study investigates two unexplored aspects of plastic transport dynamics across the near-surface, suspended and bed load layers: (i) the complex settling behaviour of plastics and (ii) their influence on plastic transport in river-like flows. Through hundreds of settling tests and thousands of 3D reconstructed plastic transport experiments, our findings show that plastics exhibit unique settling patterns and orientations, due to their geometric anisotropy, revealing a multimodal distribution of settling velocities. In the transport experiments, particle-bed interactions enhanced mixing beyond what established turbulent transport theories (Rouse profile) could predict in low-turbulence conditions, which extends the bed load layer beyond the classic definition of the bed load layer thickness for natural sediments. We propose a new vertical structure of turbulent transport equation that considers the stochastic nature of heterogeneous negatively buoyant plastics and their singularities.