George Manganaris

Cyprus University of Technology · Department of Agricultural Sciences, Biotechnology and Food Science

Raspberry (Rubus idaeus), blackberry (Rubus fructicosus), raspberry · blackberry hybrids, red currant (Ribes sativum), gooseberry (Ribes glossularia) and Cornelian cherry (Cormus mas) cultivars and native populations of varied pigmentation, originally from the Mediterranean area of Northern Greece, were assayed for antioxidant activity (determined...

Small berry fruits are consumed due to their attractive colour, special taste and are considered as one of the richest sources of natural antioxidants. Their consumption has been linked to the prevention of chronic and degenerative diseases. The term 'berry fruits' commonly encompass the so-called 'soft fruits', primarily strawberry, currants, goos...

Background Carotenoids are the main colouring substances found in orange-fleshed loquat fruits. The aim of this study was to unravel the carotenoid biosynthetic pathway of loquat fruit (cv. ‘Obusa’) in peel and flesh tissue during distinct on-tree developmental stages through a targeted analytical and molecular approach. Results Substantial change...

Peach (Prunus persica) fruit is widely consumed, both as fresh or as processed (mostly by canning) product. Despite its economic importance, a limited number of studies have dealt with quality assessment of clingstone peach cultivars after thermal processing. Thus, the aim of the current study was to evaluate the effect of canning process on compos...

Peach is the most important temperate fruit crop worldwide in terms of production after apple. However, a descending trend has been registered over the recent years in several key producing peach countries, mainly due to the increased labor cost and the reduced revenue for the farmer. The present perspective review aims to shed light on the current...

BACKGROUND ‘Xynisteri’ is considered as the reference white grape cultivar in Cyprus with remarkable adaptation to adverse edaphoclimatic conditions and appreciable oenological properties that renders it as an appropriate cultivar for studies within a global context due to climate change. To this aim, two distinct non‐irrigated plots with different...

The concept of the application of priming agents (PAs) to enhance yield performance and quality attributes of fruit crops is relatively novel. The process of priming involves prior exposure to biotic or abiotic stress factors rendering a plant more resistant/tolerant to future exposure. There is a wide range of compounds that are considered to have...

Plants are exposed to multiple threats linked to climate change which can cause critical yield losses. Therefore, designing novel crop management tools is crucial. Chemical priming has recently emerged as an effective technology for improving tolerance to stress factors. Several compounds such as phytohor-mones, reactive species, and synthetic chim...

As the current climate crisis intensifies, drought resistant crops are becoming more important due to their ability to withstand the increasingly hotter and drier summers. Such crops are valuable for pollinators as they provide food resources for wild and managed species. The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) represents an example of a heat- and dr...

Peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) as well as nectarine (which is a natural mutation of peach that lacks fuzz) belong to the botanical family Rosaceae. This introductory chapter describes the evolution of peach fruit production, providing data for peach production and harvested area worldwide and the main producing countries (China, Spain, Italy, G...

Fresh-market peaches are produced in the northern hemisphere from April through September and in the southern hemisphere, from November to March. However, its availability in stores is rather limited due to their reduced storage potential. This chapter describes an array of postharvest supply chain management protocols that are being widely adopted...

Canning accounts for the vast majority of all processed peach tonnage with other products being frozen sliced and diced products, dried peaches, and baby food purées. Non-melting peach cultivars are used for the canning process, while some freestone cultivars are processed for fruit sections, purée, or juice. All these cultivars have been bred for...

Peach is a highly valuable temperate fruit crop with significant consumer demand and nutraceutical benefits. This book provides comprehensive and up-to-date coverage on sustainable production processes for peach and nectarine. The latter is a natural mutation of peach that lacks fuzzy skin. It includes fundamental information to help reduce product...

Background ‘Xynisteri’ is the reference Cypriot white cultivar that, despite its significant societal and economic impact, is poorly characterized regarding its qualitative properties, while scarce information exists regarding its aroma profile. In the current study, the effect of leaf removal during fruit set (BBCH 71) on 6‐year cordon‐trained, sp...

Considering the limited areas suitable for peach cultivation, the short life cycle of the orchards, as well as aspects regarding appropriate rootstock availability and soil properties due to replant conditions, the sustainable intensification became increasingly necessary on peach production systems. Based on the local environment and labor availab...

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica L.) cultivation is one of the most promising crops under sub-tropical areas of the Mediterranean basin due to the fact that fruit ripening occurs in a period when there is no competition from other fresh fruits. The present work studied the effect of commercial formulations of biostimulants on qualitative attributes and...

Peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) is widely consumed both fresh and processed. Scarce information exists regarding the fate of phytochemicals after the peach canning process. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the compositional variability and impact of processing on the bioactive compounds profile of eight non-melting peach cultivars, b...

Peach

Carotenoids are isoprenoids widely distributed in foods that have been always part of the diet of humans. Unlike the other so-called food bioactives, some carotenoids can be converted into retinoids exhibiting vitamin A activity, which is essential for humans. Furthermore, they are much more versatile as they are relevant in foods not only as sourc...

The dietary constituents obtained from fruits vegetables include water, fiber, proteins (legumes), sometimes fats (olive, avocado, and nuts), minerals, and digestible carbohydrates. Starch-based staples, such as potato, cassava, corn, banana, and plantain, provide a major energy source in several regions, being particularly important dietary source...

The effect of preharvest foliar spray applications at fruit colour breaker stage with acetylsalicylic acid (synthetic salicylate), spermidine (polyamine), their combination and a commercial calcium supplement on loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl cv. ‘Karantoki’) fruit at successive harvests and subsequently during maintenance at room temperature (s...

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl) tree has a unique annual cycle that allows it to satisfactorily adapt in the Mediterranean basin but also in other subtropical climates. Over the recent years, the commercial production of loquat fruit has received increased interest and it has risen to a niche product that is greatly appreciated by the consumers....

The cover image is based on the Research Article Elaboration of novel and comprehensive protocols toward determination of textural properties and other sensorial attributes of canning peach fruit, by Marina Christofi et al., https://doi.org/10.1111/jtxs.12577.

Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins, dietary fibers and phytochemicals, as well as other phytonutrients, which promote human health. Specifically, vitamins are major bioactive compounds, divided in water-soluble (vitamins B and C) and lipid-soluble (vitamins A, E and K) ones, having strong antioxidant potential and limiting several diseases incl...

Peach (Prunus persica) products are destined for fresh consumption or are being consumed after processing in various forms. Despite its huge economic importance, no standardized protocols to define sensorial attributes and mechanical properties of canned peaches exist. Thus, the aim of the current study was dual and included the setting up of a lis...

Loquat marketability is affected by purple spot (PS), a preharvest physiological disorder, evident as skin discoloration with depressed surface. The intensity and severity of PS in three loquat cultivars ('Morphitiki', 'Karantoki' and 'Obusa') was phenotypically monitored during successive on-tree fruit developmental stages. At harvest. 'Obusa' fru...

The extension of commercial life and the reduction of postharvest losses of perishable fruits is mainly based on storage at low temperatures alone or in combination with modified atmospheres (MAs) and controlled atmospheres (CAs), directed primarily at reducing their overall metabolism thus delaying ripening and senescence. Fruits react to postharv...

Fruit and vegetables are considered to be among the most important sources of bioactive compounds with proven beneficial effect on human diet. Tomato has been evolved as a model crop to study both fruit ripening pattern as well as for understanding how different environmental and agricultural factors can enhance the accumulation of bioactive compou...

Sweet cherries are a high value, short storage life fruit. Value in the market place is dependent on quality parameters including firmness, soluble solids content, red fruit color, stem green color and freedom from defects (pitting, pebbling, decay). Quality at the market place can be assured if proper at harvest temperature management and good con...

Physiological disorders due to extended low-temperature storage, evident as chilling injury (CI) symptoms, are among the main deterioration problems of stone fruits. Storage temperature and duration trigger the onset and intensity of these genetically controlled disorders. Besides CI symptoms, fast ripening and development of postharvest diseases l...

Due to scalar on-tree ripening, harvest of loquat fruit is successive, spanning for several weeks, depending on the cultivar considered and the cultivation practices applied. Notably, early harvested fruit receive appreciably high prices on the market. The aim of the current study was to dissect the effect of harvesting day on mechanical properties...

Concorrenza greca in aumento con le migliorate tecniche post-raccolta L a coltivazione dell'actinidia in Grecia attraversa una fase di cre-scita esponenziale in termini sia di area coltivata, sia dei volumi di pro-duzione, posizionandosi al quinto po-2017 circa il 45% della produzione di kiwi era concentrata nella Macedonia centrale (Province di Pi...

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl.) is the only fruit tree crop in the Mediterranean zone with ripening period during early spring, particularly when specific preharvest practices are applied such as cultivation under plastic cover. Loquat fruit is characterised by its refreshing taste and it is highly appreciated by consumers. However, lo...

Chilling injury (CI) limits shelf life, long-distance distribution and off-season commercialization of peach and nectarine fruits. It has been described using different and sometimes diffuse terms (mealy, woolly, leathery), which mostly refer to fruits which, while maintaining normal water content, lack juiciness and have a highly unappealing textu...

- Vitamin E is a general term used to describe a group of eight lipophilic compounds known as tocochromanols. These vitamin E variants are chemically categorized into two classes formed by α-, β-, γ-, and δ- tocopherols and tocotrienols isoforms, respectively. - The present study describes the concurrent regulation of genes and metabolites orchestr...

BACKGROUND The effect of leaf removal on postharvest performance of dehydrated grapes has been poorly analyzed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of leaf removal at veraison stage on the metabolites of fresh and dehydrated grapes of two indigenous Cypriot cultivars (‘Mavro’ and ‘Xynisteri’), which are destined for the production of ‘...

It has recently been described that the Japanese plum “Santa Rosa” bud sport series contains variations in ripening pattern: climacteric, suppressed-climacteric and non-climacteric types. This provides an interesting model to study the role of ethylene and other key mechanisms governing fruit ripening, softening and senescence. The aim of the curre...

(A) A neighbor joining phylogenetic tree from SNPs among the six cultivars. (B) A PCoA plot depicting the dimensional relationships among the six cultivars using SNPs.

Total number of variant sites identified after filtering for depth, allele frequency, mapping quality, and coding region.

Sequencing summary for plum cultivars.

This table shows the 260 SNP/INDELS differences between Sweet Mariam and the suppressed cultivars, which are July Santa Rosa, Late Santa Rosa, Casselman, and Roysum after filtering and based of gene function of the SNP.

Summary of the unique variants effects (SNP/INDEL) for each of the plum cultivars.

Discriminatory SNP variants among the 6 plum cultivars where at least one cultivar differs.

Discriminatory INDEL variants among the 6 plum cultivars where at least one cultivar differs.

This table shows the 281 SNP/INDELS differences with their respectives chromosome location between Santa Rosa and the rest of plum cultivars after filtering and based of gene function of the SNP.

This table shows the 204 SNP/INDELS diferences between climateric (July Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa and Late Santa Rosa) vs. the non-climateric Sweet Mariam after filtering and based of gene function of the SNP.

Summary of the copy number variations when comparing (a) Santa Rosa vs. Sweet Mariam, (b) Santa Rosa vs. Late Santa Rosa, Casselman and Roysum and (c) Sweet Mariam vs. Late Santa Rosa, Casselman, and Roysum.

This table shows the 108 SNP/INDELS differences between Santa Rosa and Sweet Mariam after filtering and based of gene function of the SNP.

Horticultural commodities (fruit and vegetables) are the major dietary source of several bioactive compounds of high nutraceutical value for humans, including polyphenols, carotenoids and vitamins. The aim of the current review was dual. Firstly, toward the eventual enhancement of horticultural crops with bio-functional compounds, the natural genet...

The objective of this study was to compare the effect of traditional sun-drying method (TM) with four alternative dehydration methods [(a) multiple horizontal wires (MHW), (b) multiple vertical pallets (MVP), (c) low greenhouse (LGH) and (d) hot-air dryer treatment (HAD)] on phenolic composition, oenological parameters, aroma potential and browning...

http://platform.cabi.org/bookshop/book/9781780648378

The aim of this study was to understand the antioxidant metabolic changes of peach (cvs. 'Royal Glory', 'Red Haven' and 'Sun Cloud') and nectarine fruits (cv. 'Big Top') exposed to different combinations of low-temperature storage (0, 2, 4 weeks storage at 0 °C, 90% R.H.) and additional ripening at room temperature (1, 3 and 5 d, shelf life, 20 °C)...

The term vitamin E refers to a group of eight lipophilic compounds known as tocochromanols. The tocochromanols are divided into two groups, that is, tocopherols and tocotrienols, with four forms each, namely α-, β-, γ-, and δ-. In order to explore the temporal biosynthesis of tocochromanols in olive (Olea europaea cv. ‘Koroneiki’) fruit during on-t...

Grapes' sun-dried process is one of the most critical steps in the production of ‘Commandaria’, a dessert wine product that is exclusively produced in Cyprus and derived from must obtained from two indigenous grape cultivars, namely ‘Mavro’ and ‘Xynisteri’. Despite its significant economic importance, no data regarding the primary and secondary met...

Sweet cherry fruits (Prunus avium cvs. ‘Canada Giant’, ‘Ferrovia’) were harvested at commercial maturity stage and analyzed at harvest and after maintenance at room temperature (storage at ∼20°C, shelf life) for 1, 2, 4, 6, and 8 days, respectively. Fruit were initially analyzed for respiration rate, qualitative attributes and textural properties:...

The aim of this work was to generate a high resolution temporal mapping of the biosynthetic pathway of vitamin E in olive fruit (Olea europaea cv. “Koroneiki”) during 17 successive on-tree developmental stages. Fruit material was collected from the middle of June until the end of January, corresponding to 6–38 weeks after flowering (WAF). Results r...

The improvement of plant growth and productivity under biotic and abiotic stress conditions, as well as the reduction of post-harvest losses, are of paramount significance for meeting the increasing global population demand for food. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) has recently appeared as a key contributor towards this goal via its bioactive role in the r...

The improvement of plant growth and productivity under biotic and abiotic stress conditions, as well as the reduction of post-harvest losses, are of paramount significance to meet the increasing demand for food by a growing World population. Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) has recently appeared as a key contributor towards this goal through its bioactive r...

This book, divided into four parts, aims to gather comprehensive and concise information on the advances in fruit research. Part one focuses on physiology and metabolism. Part two deals with fruit nutritional quality and part three with signalling and hormonal control of fruit ripening. Part four covers genetic and epigenetic control of fruit ripen...

Nitric oxide (NO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) have a pivotal role in plant development and stress responses, thus rendering them as key molecules for priming approaches. In this study, a hydroponic experiment was employed in order to investigate the effects of NO donor, sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 100 μM), or H2O2 (10 mM) root pretreatment in major...

Chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes are a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Excess weight and outright obesity are a growing concern. Prevention of these problems is linked to lifestyle choices. There may be an evolutionary discordance between modern diets, rich in calories from fats and starches and low in fruit...

‘Kathista’ and ‘Lortiko’ are regarded as traditional and highly appreciated apple cultivars in Cyprus, yet their postharvest behaviour and phytochemical content are largely unknown. Such fruits were examined for their qualitative traits, phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity after harvest or short, intermediate or extended cold storage and...