Effects of Deficit Irrigation, Rootstock, and Roasting on the Contents of Fatty Acids, Phytoprostanes, and Phytofurans in Pistachio Kernels.

Pistachio (Pistacia vera L.) is a drought-tolerant species grown under the semiarid conditions of the Mediterranean basin. For this reason, it is essential to make an exhaustive quantification of yield and quality benefits of the kernels because the regulated deficit irrigation will allow significant water savings with a minimum impact on yield while improving kernel quality. The goal of this scientific work was to study the influence of the rootstock, water deficit during pit hardening, and kernel roasting on pistachio (P. vera, cv. Kerman) fruit yield, fruit size, and kernel content of fatty acids phytoprostanes (PhytoPs) and phytofurans (PhytoFs) for the first time. Water stress during pit hardening did not affect the pistachio yield. The kernel cultivar showed a lower oleic acid and a higher linoleic acid contents than other cultivars. Kernels from plants grafted on the studied rootstocks showed very interesting characteristics. P. integerrima led to the highest percentage of monounsaturated fatty acids. Regarding the plant oxylipins, P. terebinthus led to the highest contents of PhytoPs and PhytoFs (1260 ng/100 g and 16.2 ng/100 g, respectively). In addition, nuts from trees cultivated under intermediate water deficit during pit hardening showed increased contents of the 9-series F1-phytoprostanes and ent-16(RS)-9-epi-ST-Δ14-10-phytofuran. However, roasting of pistachios led to PhytoP degradation. Therefore, plant cultivar, deficit irrigation, rootstock, and roasting must be considered to enhance biosynthesis of these secondary metabolites. New tools using agricultural strategies to produce hydroSOS pistachios have been opened thanks to the biological properties of these prostaglandin-like compounds linking agriculture, nutrition, and food science technology for further research initiatives.

Effect of preharvest fruit bagging on fruit quality characteristics and incidence of fruit physiopathies in fully irrigated and water stressed pomegranate trees.

BACKGROUND: This report studied the response of pomegranate fruit under full irrigation (FI) and water stress conditions to bagging with externally glossy, single-layer, cellulosic paper bags, open at the bottom, from the end of fruit thinning to harvest time. RESULTS: Bagging decreased fruit size and the maturity index, and increased antioxidant activity in FI conditions. Moreover, fruit bagging substantially reduced the incidence of peel sunburn in both irrigation conditions. CONCLUSION: The delay in fruit growth and ripening as a result of pomegranate fruit bagging is outweighed by the very important commercial benefit in terms of the reduced incidence of peel sunburn and the increase in fruit antioxidant activity. © 2018 The Authors. Journal of The Science of Food and Agriculture published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.