Marina Buccheri

• PhD
• Researcher at Council for Agricultural Research and Agricultural Economy Analysis

Time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS), a nondestructive technique, can help the industry to provide high-quality fruit to encourage pear consumption. The absorption coefficient measured by TRS at 670 nm (μa670) represents a maturity index for pear fruit, with less mature pears high μa670 and more mature low μa670. The aim of this work was to...

The aim of this work was to explore the feasibility of time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS) in determining the ripening degree and the quality of orange-fleshed melons. Sixty ‘Honey Moon’ melons were measured by TRS in the 540-1064 nm range and classified as less (LeM), medium (MeM), and more (MoM) mature according to increasing values of μ...

le varietà economicamente più importanti. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è stato quello di valutare l'effetto della conservazione, del trattamento con 1-MCP e del grado di maturazione determinato in modo non distruttivo alla raccolta mediante spettroscopia di riflettanza risolta nel tempo (TRS) sul profilo sensoriale di pere 'Abate Fetel' e 'Conference'...

The consumption of ready-to-eat (RTE) leafy vegetables has increased rapidly due to changes in consumer diet. RTE products are perceived as fresh, high-quality, and health-promoting. The monitoring of the RTE quality is crucial in relation to safety issues. This study aimed to evaluate the maintenance of RTE rocket salad freshness packed under modi...

Il progetto ESPERA (Regione Lombardia) mira al miglioramento della gestione della filiera della pera IGP del Mantovano mediante l’implementazione di innovative soluzioni tecnologiche, di processo e organizzative, per limitare gli sprechi e valorizzare gli scarti. Il progetto prevede la determinazione di un indice di maturazione non distruttivo da u...

Storage of apples (Malus × domestica, Borkh.) in controlled atmosphere (CA) and/or the application of initial low oxygen stress (ILOS) are very effective in controlling postharvest disorders as bitter pit and superficial scald. This work aims to evaluate the effect of CA-storage and ILOS on the stress-related compounds of apple peel and to deepen t...

In this work, basil plants were fertilized with 0, 2.5 mM and 10 mM nitrogen (with different NO3−/NH4+ ratios), and then monitored using a low-power technique based on an optical leaf meter and a low-cost RGB sensor interfaced with an Arduino UNO board. The study aimed to investigate possible relationships between the concentration of some plant co...

In this research, the relationship between scattering properties, texture sensory profile and Water Matrix Coordinates (WAMACs) during shelf life was studied on ‘Braeburn’ apples. In this regard, 20 fruit samples kept at 20°C were selected at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14 and 21 days and measured non-destructively by TRS for bulk μ’s estimation, and by a M...

Sturgeon caviar quality relies not only on the perfect dosage of the ingredients but also on the long sturgeon breeding cycle (about 12–15 years) and the exact timing of the egg extraction. For the improvement and the promotion of Italian caviar, the development of an analytical system dedicated to fish products, and caviar, in particular, is funda...

Bulk optical properties, in terms of absorption (μa) and reduced scattering coefficients (μ′s), can be used for the non-destructive monitoring of fruit quality during ripening. In this study, the performance of time-resolved (TRS) and spatially-resolved (SRS) spectroscopy were compared by analyzing ‘Braeburn’ apples over a 21 d period of ripening....

The study aimed to evaluate apple fruit affected by watercore by a physical and biochemical point of view and, at the same time, to gain an insight into the mechanisms of the watercorerelated oxidative stress and browning. Fruit of the cv. Pomella Genovese (Malus x domestica Borkh.) were harvested in three different orchards and stored at 1°C (8590...

Bananito (Musa acuminata, AA) fruit in three maturity stages (stages 2, 4 and 6) were investigated in this study. Correlation analysis was conducted between fruit firmness, soluble solids content (SSC) and several colour parameters. Point-measured spectroscopy (Vis-point) and spatial-measured hyperspectral imaging (Vis-HSI) were applied to collect...

Annurca is the most cultivated apple variety in Campania region (Italy). It is an Italian PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) product and its management must follow a strict product specification which requires a typical postharvest treatment: the fruit must be subjected to a reddening process (“melaio”) that improves the red colour and the fla...

Aquaphotomics is a scientific discipline which investigates the water-light interactions in biological systems by using NIR spectroscopy and multivari-ate analysis to relate water absorption patterns to bio-functionalities. This work aimed at evaluating the feasibility of Aquaphotomics to study apple fruit sensory texture. 'Braeburn', 'Gala' and 'K...

Calibration transfer from a handheld micro NIR spectrometer (NIR-point, 939–1602 nm, 6.2 nm) to a desktop hyperspectral imaging (NIR-HSI) for predicting soluble solids content (SSC) of bananito flesh was investigated in the study. Different spectral pre-processing and standardization methods were employed for correcting spectra so as to minimise sp...

Minimal processing of fruit and vegetables involves different operations that increase the perishability of the final product and often cause a decrease in its nutritional properties. In this work three blackberry (Rubus fruticosus L.) cultivars (‘Chester’, ‘Arapaho’ and ‘Triple Crown’) grown in the hill (Valle Imagna, BG, Italy) or in the plain (A...

Time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS) has been used for non-invasive assessment of maturity and texture characteristics in intact apples. The absorption coefficient measured at 670 nm can be considered a maturity index for apples while the reduced scattering coefficient (μ’s) changes according to pulp texture characteristics, increasing with...

Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) fruits are characterised by a high content of nutraceuticals, such as vitamin C, polyphenols and anthocyanins, which are considered antioxidant compounds. The ready-to-eat raspberry product could increase the market opportunities and the consumption of this high-value-added fruit. The aim of this research was to evaluate...

The technological possibilities of environmental monitoring have developed enor- mously over the past few years. The MONALISA Project has combined the potential of various technologies and has gathered data for South Tyrol at different levels, from the smallest scale of the individual apple, to the whole orchard and all the way to data covering...

Different fruit textures are characterized by different pulp tissue optical properties. The absorption (µa) and the reduced scattering (µ's) coefficients, nondestructively measured in the fruit flesh by time-resolved reflectance spectroscopy (TRS) were able to distinguish apple cultivars with different textures and were found to be linked to mechan...

I consumatori di mele preferiscono frutti croccanti e succosi a frutti farinosi. Queste caratteristiche sensoriali definiscono la texture di un frutto e sono legate alle proprietà meccaniche e acustiche della polpa. La texture dipende dal grado di maturazione e varia con l’intenerimento del frutto a causa delle modificazioni subite dalle pareti cel...

‘Annurca’ apple is a typical PGI product of Campania region (Italy). This cultivar is highly susceptible to superficial scald, an important postharvest disorder. After harvest, ‘Annurca’ fruit are subjected to a typical reddening treatment (melaio) to turn the apples’ skin red. They are usually stored under normal atmosphere (NA) conditions and, in...

Superficial scald is a disorder developed in cold storage by ‘Conference’ and ‘Abbé Fétel’ pears and it has been related to the presence of oxidation products, mainly conjugated trienols (CTols), of which α-farnesene is primary, acting on epidermal cells. Among tested postharvest methods to control scald, there is treatment at harvest with 1-methyl...

Three peach (‘Honora’, ‘Dr. Davis’ and ‘Fairtime’) and five nectarine (‘Maria Anna’, ‘Diamond Ray’, ‘Fairline’, ‘Nectaross’, ‘Sweet Red’) cultivars were analyzed at harvest and after a postharvest ripening period. Physicochemical characteristics [peel ground color (L*,C*, h°), soluble solids content (SSC), flesh firmness and titratable acidity (TA)...

Four Actinidia cultivars ('Hayward', 'Early Green', 'Boerica' and 'Hort 16A') were evaluated few days after harvest (T0) and after shelf-life at 20°C or storage at 1°C until ripe. As expected, flesh firmness decreased dramatically in all the cultivars during the ripening process while soluble solids content increased. In all the cultivars no import...

Several techniques have been developed to preserve the quality of horticultural products throughout the supply chain. Edible coatings represent a promising technology as they can improve quality and extend shelf life of fruit and vegetables by changing gases and moisture permeabilties, enhancing fruit appearance, and reducing microbial contaminatio...

‘Conference’ pears in Italy are often subjected to superficial scald in cold storage, impairing their marketing. Among the postharvest methods employed to control scald, some include treatment at harvest with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), dynamically controlled atmosphere (DCA) and initial low O2 stress (ILOS). This research aimed at studying the i...

‘Tarocco’ is the most popular blood orange cultivar in Italy. Until now, limited information has existed on the effect of storage on physiology, aroma and nutritional quality of ‘Tarocco’ oranges. In this work, physico-chemical, physiological and nutritional properties, as well as the aroma profile of ‘Tarocco Scirè’ fruit were evaluated after 0, 1...

The objective of this comparative study was to determine the quality changes in five peach genotypes [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] during ripening of fruit harvested at commercial maturity (i.e., fruit picked mature but not fully ripe), and at full physiological maturity. The genotypes used were ‘Big Top’ nectarine, ‘Redhaven’, and its white-fleshed...

Fruit of the cultivar ‘Galaxy’ and of three new apple cultivars (‘Gemini’, ‘Renoirciv’ and ‘Gaia’) were evaluated at 1°C in regular (RA) or controlled (CA) atmosphere during a 6-months storage. Two static CA compositions were assessed: CA1 (1.7% O2 + 1% CO2) and CA2 (1.2% O2 + 1% CO2). At harvest and after 60 and 180 days, total phenols content (TP...

Carotenoids are plant metabolites which are not only essential in photosynthesis but also important quality factors in determining the pigmentation and aroma of flowers and fruits. The expression patterns of relevant carotenoid genes and metabolites were studied throughout fruit development, in order to investigate carotenoid metabolism and the rel...

Purpose of review: This review focuses on spectral indices for assessing fruit maturity as well as non-destructive mechanical techniques for the estimation of fruit firmness, a key factor in fruit management. Findings: Increasing consumer demand for better quality and safer fruits has driven research towards the non-destructive assessment of fruit...

Blackberry (Rubus fruticosus L.) and raspberry (Rubus idaeus L.) fruits composition is characterised by a high content of nutraceuticals, such as polyphenols and anthocyanins, which are antioxidant compounds able to have a protective action against the excessive production of free radicals. This work aims at contributing to the knowledge of the fac...

The development of valid micropropagation method for Diospyros kaki ‘Kaki Tipo’, the most important persimmon cultivar in Italy, would overcome difficulties related to its in vivo propagation performed by graft on rootstocks obtained from seeds. This method gives problems related to high variability of rootstocks and sometimes, lack of graft affini...

The rootstock ‘Citation’ [‘Zaipime’] (Prunus salicina × P. persica) was obtained in USA by F. Zaiger. At present, in Italy, it is under evaluation as rootstock of plum and apricot, while it is no longer recommended for peach, because of the numerous cases of graft incompatibility. In the present work different aspects of micropropagation and corres...

With the purpose of obtaining apple plants with reduced vigour but deep and expanded root apparatus, more adapted for establishment of apple orchards in dry, windy areas and higher altitudes, different interstem/rootstock combinations were compared, using seedling as rootstock and, alternatively, two weak interstocks (M.9 and M.27). For all treatme...

Kiwi fruit is an important source of food allergens, the number and relevance of which are still the object of investigation. Following a comparative analysis of the protein profiles in SDS-PAGE and IgE immunoblotting, a significant influence of conditions such as the ripening stage and the extraction method on the composition of green and gold kiw...

The rootstock Citation [Zaipime] is under evaluation as rootstock of plum and apricot, while it is no longer recommended for peach, because of the numerous cases of graft incompatibility. In the present work, different aspects of micropropagation and correspondent expressed protein profiles are presented. To obtain a better knowledge of the biology...

Le caratteristiche biochimiche e nutrizionali di un frutto sono legate al suo proteoma che dipende dal patrimonio genetico. Cultivar diverse di una stessa specie possono essere caratterizzate da variazioni qualitative e quantitative, più o meno evidenti, a carico di diverse componenti. In questo lavoro sono descritti i dati ottenuti da un’analisi c...

The aim of this work was to analyze the physiological modifications induced by girdling, and to evaluate their effects on the gas exchanges and mobility of the mineral elements in peach leaves. On 15 trees, sixty 1-yr-old shoots were chosen, thirty of which were girdled (a ring of bark 1 cm thick was removed), and 30 were used as control. The fruit...

Abstract. Proteomics is the study of the overall protein content of a cell, a tissue or an organism, aiming to the identification and quantification of all the expressed proteins. Many studies, mainly linked to the development of new medicines or therapies, have so far been focused on the analysis of human proteins. On the other hand, little attent...

The relationship among seed number, fruit weight, and calcium content in four apple cultivars (Annurca Tradizionale, Annurca Rossa del Sud, Red Delicious, and Golden Delicious) were investigated. In all cultivars, seed number affected the fruit shape. The percentage of misshapen fruits was higher when the seed number was low. A positive relationshi...