Browsing by Author "Rossi, Simone"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Underpinning data "A comprehensive study of factors affecting postharvest disorder development in celery ".(Cranfield University, 2020-10-14 12:47) Anastasiadi, Maria; Falagan Sama, Natalia; Rossi, Simone; Terry, LeonThis dataset contains the data used for statistical analysis in the paper entitled "A comprehensive study of factors affecting postharvest disorder development in celery". Specifically it contains physiological and biochemical changes affecting quality, during shelf-life in celery plants from three different horticultural maturity stages and harvested in different seasons from Spain and the UK. Part of the samples were subjected to different postharvest treatments: 1-MCP application for 24 h followed by cold storage storage under continuous air, continuous ethylene application, and continuous air application (control). In addition, this dataset contain data recording the physiological and biochemical changes occurring during shelf-life in celery plants grown under deficit irrigation and harvested at different horticultural maturity stages. Physiological changes recorded include, respiration rate, objective colour, dry matter changes, browning development and pithiness development. Biochemical data include individual sugars, abscisic acid and its catabolites and chlorogenic acid. Also the data capture spatial differences along the celery plants (apical and basal regions).Item Open Access Understanding the underlying mechanisms and the role that pre-harvest horticultural maturity, agronomic factors and growing conditions have on postharvest discolouration in celery(2017-03) Rossi, Simone; Terry, Leon A.Celery is a foliage crop which is commonly consumed for its fresh stalks, which are sold on the market in various retail formats. Celery is appreciated by consumers for its freshness, bright green colour, crisp texture, low calorific content and health promoting properties. An important problem affecting this crop after harvest is browning at cut ends, which is a physiological “disorder” manifesting with brown/black stains on cut or damaged surfaces. It manifests during handling and processing of vegetables, which is the phase where most of the postharvest damage occurs. Cut-end browning is believed to be due to the activity of two enzymes; polyphenol-oxidase (PPO) and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL). These two enzymes synergistically act to produce melanins, which are the pigments responsible for the black/brown appearance. This is a relevant economic issue as discoloured celery tends to be rejected by retailers, with negative implications for the growers and the UK fresh produce industry. Postharvest browning is not thought to be due to the activity of fungi or bacteria, yet the blackening of surfaces suggests to customers that the product is decaying. Research has been conducted to understand which postharvest factors can influence browning in celery. It has been shown that the use of controlled atmosphere (Gomez and Artes, 2004), heat shock treatments (Loaiza-Velarde et al., 2003) and postharvest application of high intensity light (Zhan et al., 2013) were effective in reducing incidence of the problem. On the other hand, research on pre-harvest factors is still scarce. The aim of the present work was to: 1-) investigate which agronomic factors can affect the severity of postharvest browning in celery; 2-) provide a better understanding of the underlying physiological and biochemical mechanisms involved in this “disorder”. Results showed that agronomic practices can affect postharvest browning in celery. Harvesting at late maturity stages and irrigating below the normal requirements increased postharvest discolouration in this crop. Additionally, the browning mechanism does not seem to be mediated by ethylene in celery. Further biochemical analysis on phenolic compounds and enzymatic activity (PPO and PAL) need to be performed to provide a better elucidation of the browning reaction in this crop.