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Tomato is a popularly consumed vegetable fruit and suffers from huge losses due to its high perishability. Calcium chloride (CaCl2∙2H2O) application has been shown to be an important method that can extend the shelf life of tomato fruits. The current study aimed to determine the effect of pre-harvest treatments of CaCl2 on the growth, yield, quality, and shelf-life performance of tomato varieties. Four tomato varieties known as MT-1, MT-3, 303, and 105 were sprayed with the CaCl2 solutions (0.0%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%, w/v) after seven days of fruit initiation and were sprayed every week until the first harvest. Spraying with 2% of CaCl2 showed an improvement in controlling physiological disorders such as blossom end rot (BER), weight loss, declined disease incidence, and disease severity. An increase in fruit quality was also observed as the treated fruit could maintain its shelf life up to 20 days at ambient conditions. At the highest doses of CaCl2 (2%), it increased the total ascorbic acid (AA), lycopene content, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity (DPPH) in comparison to lower doses and control tomatoes. MT-3 responded well to higher doses of CaCl2 (2%) among the four tomato varieties and performed better in growth, yield, disease, insect infestation, quality, and shelf-life performance compared to the other varieties and CaCl2 treatment combination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon (Si) is a micronutrient that can increase the resistance of certain plants against multiple biotic or abiotic stresses. It is known that Si has a beneficial effect on plant growth, beginning in the soil, which could lead to a good crop yield. Despite its benefits, Si is not listed among the generally essential elements or nutrients for rice production in many countries such as Malaysia. This review discusses the ability to uptake Si and its benefits on rice. Environmental factors affect rice production, and among the factors, high temperature has been shown to disrupt the physiological development of rice grain, which contributes to chalkiness. Chalkiness is an undesirable trait that decreases grain's value, milling, cooking, and eating quality. The application of Si could ameliorate rice grain quality, thus providing a valuable reference for Si fertiliser use in high-quality rice production. This review also presents an update on the potentials of Si in improving the rice yield and grain quality, including Si's ability to minimise grain chalkiness. Therefore, it is anticipated that Si applications will increase rice yield and grain quality and help to reduce chalkiness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frozen storage was introduced to maintain the quality and prolong the shelf life of durian pulps. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the changes of organic acids, sugars, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in "Musang King" ("MK") and "D24" pulps under long‐term frozen storage. Organic acids in "MK" and "D24" only showed slight decrements, but sugar contents especially sucrose drastically decreased during 1 year frozen storage. Fructose and glucose in both durian pulps increased during the first half period of storage; this might be due to the conversion of sucrose to monosaccharides during storage. Freezing also caused the loss of some VOCs especially sulfur‐ and ester‐containing VOCs in "MK" and "D24" pulps. These results indicated that the flavor losses in "MK" and "D24" were mostly related to the losses of ester‐containing compounds rather than organic acids and sugar compositions following 1 year frozen storage. Practical applications: Freezing practice has been successfully used to export Malaysian durians to other countries for the past few years and the frozen durian it is expected to boost up the economy of Malaysia. Blast freezing is capable to extend the shelf life of the pulp of durian and provide a continuous supply throughout all year round as durian is a seasonal fruit. Even though the frozen pulp is still edible up to 1 year storage, some qualities of such as flavor are affected during frozen storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Musang King and D24 are the most demanded durians among other clones in Malaysia. • β-carotene in pulp and paste decreased ≥ 20 % in durian after 12 months frozen storage. • Frozen storage minimized microbial contaminations and prolonged the shelf life of durians. • Durian paste is more prone to microbial contaminations as compared to pulp. Exposing fruits to freezing temperature has been shown to successfully extend the shelf life and control the microbiological activity in the fruits. However, freezing could also lead to undesirable losses in the fruit quality. The present work was conducted to investigate the effect of frozen storage on physicochemical qualities and microbial contaminations of "MK" (Musang King) and "D24" durian pulp and paste for one year. During frozen storage, both durian pulp and paste lost 1 %–2 % of their weight along with an increase in pulp softening. Changes in color intensity during freezing storage shifted the golden yellow "MK" pulp to higher hº (lighter yellow) and this directly reduced the total carotenoids and ß-carotene contents in "MK". Similarly, "D24" changed to pale yellow alongside reduction on L * and C* after one year frozen storage. Long term frozen storage in the present work also decreased the SSC and ascorbic acid contents for both durian pulp and paste. However, the pH and TA were not affected. "MK" and "D24" pulp showed lower microbial contamination than paste, with higher contaminations were observed in "D24". These results showed that frozen storage could be used to preserve the quality of durians for less than one year of storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]