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Fruit set in the muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) depended on insect cross-pollination, although flowers were well adapted for selfing. Pollinizer cultivars produced about half of their optimal fruit set when selfed, but cross-pollination was needed to reach an optimal fruit set of 33.7%. Eighty-one percent of the overall fruit set in pistillate vines was attributed to insect cross-pollination; wind played only a small role. Diminished fruit set and fewer seeds per berry occurred in cultivars receiving no effective cross-pollination. Components of fruit quality were not profoundly affected by the pollination treatments, although seed set and berry weight in pistillate cultivars was lower in the absence of cross-pollination. Parthenocarpy was rare, except in `Fry Seedless'. Muscadine production throughout the southeastern United States depends on cross-pollination by indigenous insects, particularly bees. To ensure consistently high yields, bees must have safe access to flowers and their nesting sites must be preserved.

The southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium, mostly corymbosum) cultivars Jubilee, Pearl River, and Magnolia and the rabbiteye cultivars Climax and Premier were stored for 4 weeks at 1-2 °C. Berries were held in pint “clam shell” plastic retail units and were evaluated weekly for physical and compositional quality. As groups, the rabbiteyes were higher in SSC, SSC/TA, glucose and fructose, anthocyanins, and malic, quinic, and succinic acids. `Jubilee' was the southern highbush and `Climax' the rabbiteye least affected by the storage. `Pearl River' and `Magnolia' were less firm and more shriveled than the other cultivars. `Magnolia' had the highest incidence of decay; decay was slight overall.

Many concepts of the nutritional value of fruit and vegetables generally accepted in the past, in the light of more knowledge, today are considered “misconceptions.” For example, the tomato, once considered poisonous, then shown edible, later proved to be a “good” food and a valuable source of minerals and vitamin C, today shows the potential for significant anti-cancer activity. Results of a 6-year study of the dietary habits of 47,000 men reported up to a 45% reduction in the incidence of prostate cancer of those who ate 10 or more servings per week of tomato-based products. Other misconceptions to be discussed include nightshade vegetables and arthritis, apples after meals to clean the teeth and gums, and “if a little is good for you, a lot must be better.” Today's nutritional ideas about many fruits and vegetables may become tomorrow's misconceptions as our knowledge of the composition (e.g., phytochemicals) of fruits and vegetables increases. Examples of this are include the use of muscadine pomace and the nutritive value of strawberries.

Rabbiteye (Vaccinium ashei) blueberries were harvested in Mississippi and highbush (V. corymbosum) blueberries were harvested in Michigan. The berries were rapidly cooled to 5C after harvest and kept at this temperature for 48 h before being analyzed as fresh fruit or freezing for later analyses. Microstructural (light and scanning/transmission electron microscopy) and chemical (pectins, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, and fiber) evaluations were performed to evaluate differences between the two types of blueberries. Scanning electron micrographs showed that rabbiteye spp. have thicker epidermal and subepidermal cells than highbush spp. Transmission electron micrographs also showed that rabbiteye spp. have a thicker, more uniform cuticle layer than highbush spp. Rabbiteye spp. contained higher fiber and complex polysaccharides than highbush spp. Although, there were no differences in total pectins, rabbiteye berries had lower water soluble pectins and oxalate soluble pectins than highbush blueberries. Differences in polysaccharides and pectins between highbush and rabbiteye berries indicate that their cell wall components differ. These differences, along with the variation in subepidermal, epidermal and cuticle layers of the skin, provide valuable information to explain the textural differences between rabbiteye and highbush blueberries.

Rabbiteye blueberry (Vaccinium ashei) cultivars `Climax', `Premier', and Tifblue' were treated with gibberellic acid when 50% to 75% of the flowers of each were at stage 5 and again 10 days later. No known pollination stresses occurred during flowering, and the growing conditions were near optimum. First harvest yields from the gibberellic-acid-treated plants of each cultivar were significantly lower than the yields from nontreated controls. Gibberellic acid treatment essentially delayed commercial quantity production by an estimated 5 to 7 days for each cultivar; for the early ripening cultivars `Premier' and `Climax', this delay could mean lower yields of more profitable early berries in the Mississippi–Louisiana growing areas. Harvest-season total yields from treated plants were lower than the yields from nontreated plants of each cultivar. Using gibberellic acid as a routine cultural practice may not be necessary for small-scale growers when pollination stresses, such as frost damage to flowers, do not occur.

Three varieties of rabbit eye (Vaccinium ashei) blueberries (`Climax',, `Premier', and `Tifblue') were harvested in Mississippi and two varieties of highbush (v. corymbosum blueberries (`BlueCrop' and `Jersey') were harvested in Michigan. Each variety was harvested at three different locations as replications. The berries were rapidly cooled to 5°C after harvest, placed in 1-pint containers, and analyzed at 7-day intervals for 28 days with day 0 being 48 h after harvest. Shear, compression and puncture forces were higher for rabbiteye spp. than for highbush spp. `Bluecrop' blueberries showed the lowest shear force whereas, Climax, had the most shear force. Puncture force (skin toughness) was lower for `Bluecrop' and `Jersey' and higher for, Climax, There was an increase in shear force by all varieties with storage time. `Premier, and `Climax' had lower soluble solids, but they increased with storage time. `Jersey' had the highest pH and `Tifblue' the lowest. Although all varieties lost moisture with time, `Bluecrop' always had higher moisture. Mold growth varied with time; however, `Bluecrop' had a higher percentage of moldy berries throughout refrigeration. The percent decay was higher for highbush blueberries after 16 d of refrigeration. Rabbiteye's toughness and firmness give them a longer refrigerated shelf-life over highbush blueberries.

In addressing the subject of nondestructive evaluation of internal quality of horticultural crops, the establishment of an understanding of quality is needed at the outset. Dull (4) has defined nondestructive quality evaluation (NDQE) as “a gaining of meaningful information which can be used in making judgments, both positive and negative, about the degree of excellence of a food with out altering the physical and chemical properties of that food.” In order to make judgments about a specific quality situation, one must select specific physical and/or chemical properties to be measured. A list of those properties would include weight, diameter, titratable acidity, pH, total nitrogen and concentration of soluble solids, sucrose, glucose, fructose, malic acid, citric acid, chlorophyll, carotene, anthocyanins, dry matter, proteins, amino acids, fat, starch, cellulose, pectins, and hemicellulose.

Body transmittance spectroscopy and analytical measurements of chlorophyll, carotenoids, and soluble solids concentrations were used to develop a nondestructive technique for estimating the maturity of papayas (Carica papaya L.). Optical measurements were taken between 500−900 nm with a scanning monochromator and a tilting-filter, abridged monochromator. Immature and mature-green fruit which were indistinguishable by visual examination could be separated by body transmittance spectroscopy into nonripening and ripening groups.