Fruit growing
and viticulture of South Russia
Storage of fruits and berries production and grapes
The fruits of the sweet cherry plant (Prunus avium L.) with a high percentage of water quickly deteriorate, so research is constantly being conducted to extend access to fresh sweet cherries in the intercrop. Now in the Guba-Khachmaz region, emphasis is placed on new varieties of sweet cherries, especially Ziraat 0900 and Lapins, grown here on medium-sized rootstock Maxima-14 of French origin. The advantages of these varieties include high yield capacuty, as well as the fact that their fruits have an ideal shape, taste and color with a pronounced shine. Little is known about their properties such as responsiveness to different conditions of post-harvest storage, and orientation in this matter to literary data may be unjustified, given that in many respects they are formed under the influence of edaphoclimatic conditions of the growing region. The main objective of this study was precisely to increase awareness of this issue. In addition to the above two varieties, the experiments, for comparison, also included the fruits of the sweet cherry variety Cow Heart, grown in this region traditionally on a tall rootstock (wild). The fruits of the three aforementioned varieties were harvested 5-7 days before their full ripening. They were stored in closed plastic bags for 1 kg (25x40 cm in size, 0,05 mm thick) for 3 weeks at a temperature of 0 ... + 2 ºC and a relative humidity of 90-95 %. During storage, changes in the taste and color of fruits and pedicels were evaluated, as well as the natural decline and yield of standard fruits. Before and after storage, the content of dry soluble substances, total sugar and vitamin C and titrated acidity were determined. Storage of sweet cherries under these conditions led to significant natural losses, which, depending on the variety, amounted to 5.1-9.8 %. The yield of standard fruits of the Cow heart variety was 80.0 %, and it was significantly higher in the Ziraat 0900 and Lapins varieties 89,9 and 88,7 %, respectively. Thus, the sweet cherries of the latest introduced varieties Ziraat 0900and Lapins turned out to be more suitable for cold storage without freezing than the sweet cherries of the Cow Heart variety, which appeared in Azerbaijan many decades ago and belongs to the old Western European cultivars.
Grapes are a seasonal crop, and their consumption in fresh form is limited to two or three months. Extension of the period of consumption is possible by careful selection of yielding and genotypically stable varieties, the set of which would ensure an equal arrival of products in trade and processing enterprises, as well as by forming a rational logistical system of transportation and storage, which allows to prolong the storage period of grapes. To date, there are a number of technologies for grape storage, allowing to minimize the value of losses, as well as to prolong the period of storage. However, not all methods are safe for human health and their effectiveness cannot be justified. Proceeding from this, the aim of the research is to develop storage technology for table grapes, allowing to extend the storage period, using biotechnological methods, safe for human health. On the basis of the analysis of scientific and technical information sources, it was established that a promising direction is the development of storage technology with the use of film-forming films and coatings. On the basis of organoleptic biochemical, physico-chemical and microbiological studies the technology of table grapes storage with the use of film-forming coatings based on starch and gelatin and based on chitosan and sodium alginate has been developed. It has been established that storage of grapes with film-forming coatings in accordance with the developed technology has a positive effect on grape yield and reduces the value of total losses. The best indices, irrespective of the composition of the film-forming coating, showed the samples treated at the rate of 100 ml per 1000 grams of berries. The yield of marketable grapes when using the coating based on starch and gelatin increased by 29.6 %, the yield of grapes based on chitosan and alginate increased by 25.7 %.
Courgettes and scallop squash are quite important vegetable crops in the Russian Federation. For the period 2000-2020 gross yields of courgettes and scallop squash in farms of all categories increased by 10.5 %, in the commercial sector (agricultural organizations and peasant/farm enterprises) by 95.4 %. However, as objects of storage, the fruits of these crops are distinguished by thin integumentary tissues, low water-holding capacity, high respiration rate, and vulnerability to microbiological deterioration. Further complicating the organization of their storage is the fact that courgettes and scallop squash are thermophilic and get damaged by low temperature. Thus, the creation of technologies to control the loss of courgettes and scallop squash is relevant. The purpose of this work was mathematical modeling of the processes of natural weight loss of fresh courgettes during storage and the development of software for predicting losses. As objects of study, a hybrid of courgettes Iskander F1 was used. The courgettes were stored for 10 days under various conditions: the temperature varied from 7 to 15 ºC, relative air humidity - from 55 to 95 %. At the end of storage, the mass of research objects was determined. As a result of the conducted work, the dependence of the natural weight loss during storage of courgettes on such parameters as temperature and relative air humidity was revealed. The established dependence made it possible to create a mathematical model and develop software based on it, designed to predict the amount of losses depending on the aforementioned parameters. The developed application llows to optimize the storage parameters of courgettes in order to reduce losses and maximize the duration of their storage.
The mass concentration of biogenic amines is an important indicator of the quality and the safety of food products, including alcohol. This indicator is standardized in wine products in most European countries. Many factors influence the concentration of biogenic amines in wines. The important factors among them are the conditions and duration of storage. As a result of studying the influence of air temperature, type of packaging, bottle position and keeping period of white wine materials on the concentration of biogenic amines, it was found that storage in a barrel does not significantly affect biogenic amines. In white wine stored n bottles in a vertical position, with an increase in temperature to 22 º and with an increase in the duration of storage, an increase by 2 times on average in the concentration of all the studied biogenic amines was noted. In wine stored in bottles in a horizontal position, with an increase in temperature and duration of storage, an increase in the concentration of biogenic amines was also noted, but to a lesser extent than in a vertical position. During the storage of red wine materials in a barrel, the total concentration of biogenic amines decreased due to a decrease in the concentrations of phenylethylamine, putrescine and cadaverine. These biogenic amines were not detected in the samples after 60 days, which could be due to the inhibitory effect of phenolic compounds on decarboxylase enzymes. Statistical processing of the obtained experimental data made it possible to establish the dependence of the change in biogenic amines on several qualitative features (type of packaging, bottle position, temperature and storage time), which contributed to the discovery of the relationship between factors in the study of a complex model. The obtained data confirm that during the storage of wines it is necessary to control the conditions (at temperatures from 5 C to 20 C) established in the regulatory documentation and ensuring the quality and safety of the finished product.
The fruit storability, which is based on the variety, is formed from individual indicators, including the mineral composition of the fruit, the optimal amount of which ensures the formation of protective properties on the skin and pulp, which contributes to the long-term storage of fruits in cold storage chambers. Therefore, the study of mineral composition in different phases of fruit development is relevant. In this regard, the research aim is to establish the storability of apples depending on the level of accumulation of minerals. The weather of the growing season is one of the most important factors affecting the accumulation of minerals in fruits and their storability. As a result of the conducted research, the regularities of the formation of the mineral composition of apples during the growing season have been studied; optimal levels of calcium, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus in different phases of fruit development have been established; patterns of the development of physiological diseases during fruit storage due to the mineral composition of apples have been established. The established optimal levels of the content of nutrients in a certain phase of plant development allow to adjust the planned topdressing to achieve the specified levels of mineral composition. An early prognosis of the development of physiological diseases of fruits due to a lack or imbalance of the mineral composition allows to reduce storage losses by 5-7%. It was found that for the main assortment of apples growing in the conditions of the Krasnodar region, the following macronutrient content is optimal, depending on varietal characteristics in removable maturity: 8.0-12.0 mg/100 g of calcium; 80.0-120.0 mg/100 g of potassium, 6.0-9.0 mg/100 g of magnesium, that provides the greatest resistance to diseases and the maximum duration of storage.