University of Avignon

About: University of Avignon is a education organization based out in Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur, France. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Speaker recognition. The organization has 1526 authors who have published 3766 publications receiving 88928 citations.

Effects of Low Nitrogen Supply on Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Fruit Yield and Quality with Special Emphasis on Sugars, Acids, Ascorbate, Carotenoids, and Phenolic Compounds

Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine the impact of lowering nitrogen supply from 12 to 6 or 4 mM NO3− on tomato fruit yield and quality during the growing season. Lowering nitrogen supply had a low impact on fruit commercial yield (−7.5%), but it reduced plant vegetative growth and increased fruit dry matter content, improving consequently fruit quality. Fruit quality was improved due to lower acid (10−16%) and increased soluble sugar content (5−17%). The content of some phenolic compounds (rutin, a caffeic acid glycoside, and a caffeic acid derivate) and total ascorbic acid tended to be higher in fruit with the lowest nitrogen supply, but differences were significant in only a few cases (trusses). With regard to carotenoids, data did not show significant and univocal differences related to different levels of nitrogen supply. Thus, reducing nitrogen fertilization limited environmental pollution, on the one hand, and may improve, on the other hand, both growers’ profits, by limiting nitrogen input...

Water shortage and quality of fleshy fruits—making the most of the unavoidable

Abstract: Extreme climatic events, including drought, are predicted to increase in intensity, frequency, and geographic extent as a consequence of global climate change. In general, to grow crops successfully in the future, growers will need to adapt to less available water and to take better advantage of the positive effects of drought. Fortunately, there are positive effects associated with drought. Drought stimulates the secondary metabolism, thereby potentially increasing plant defences and the concentrations of compounds involved in plant quality, particularly taste and health benefits. The role of drought on the production of secondary metabolites is of paramount importance for fruit crops. However, to manage crops effectively under conditions of limited water supply, for example by applying deficit irrigation, growers must consider not only the impact of drought on productivity but also on how plants manage the primary and secondary metabolisms. This question is obviously complex because during water deficit, trade-offs among productivity, defence, and quality depend upon the intensity, duration, and repetition of events of water deficit. The stage of plant development during the period of water deficit is also crucial, as are the effects of other stressors. In addition, growers must rely on relevant indicators of water status, i.e. parameters involved in the relevant metabolic processes, including those affecting quality. Although many reports on the effects of drought on plant function and crop productivity have been published, these issues have not been reviewed thus far. Here, we provide an up-to-date review of current knowledge of the effects of different forms of drought on fruit quality relative to the primary and secondary metabolisms and their interactions. We also review conventional and less conventional indicators of water status that could be used for monitoring purposes, such as volatile compounds. We focus on fruit crops owing to the importance of secondary metabolism in fruit quality and the importance of fruits in the human diet. The issue of defence is also briefly discussed.

Prevalence, characterization and growth of Bacillus cereus in commercial cooked chilled foods containing vegetables

Abstract: In cooked-chilled and pasteurized vegetable products, initial numbers of Bacillus cereus were below 10 cfu g−1. Before the appearance of spoilage, numbers reached 6–8 log cfu g−1 at 20 °C and 4–6 log cfu g−1 at 10 °C. Bacillus cereus was not detected in samples stored at 4 °C. Ten percent of strains isolated from the products were able to grow at 5 °C and 63% at 10 °C. Bacillus cereus strains unable to degrade starch, a feature linked to the production of emetic toxin, did not grow at 10 °C and had a higher heat resistance at 90 °C. Using immunochemical assays, enterotoxin was detected in the culture supernatant fluid of 97·5% of the strains. All culture supernatant fluids were cytotoxic but important variations in the level of activity were found. Psychrotrophic isolates of B. cereus were unable to grow in courgette broth at 7 °C whereas they grew in a rich laboratory medium. At 10 °C, these isolates grew in both media but lag time in courgette broth was 20-fold longer than in the rich laboratory medium.