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Mechanical harvesting with over-the-row harvesters in super-high-density table olive orchards increases the effectiveness of fruit removal, although bruising can limit the fruit quality. Additionally, early harvest in periods less favourable to quality production is increasingly frequent due to global warming. This work explores the impact on olive quality of harvesting at dawn when environmental temperature is low. The study was carried out for two years on two cultivars with different tolerance to bruising ('Manzanilla de Sevilla' and 'Manzanilla Cacereña'), grown in super-high-density conditions and harvested at two timepoints: dawn and morning.Fruit morphology was not modified by the moment of harvest in neither of the cultivars. Fruit harvested at dawn produced less COMechanical harvesting at dawn contributes to reduce the damage in olive fruit. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

9 páginas.- 6 figuras.- 5 tablas.- 38 referencias, Bruising is defined as the dark spots on the fruit surface that progress into the mesocarp as a consequence of mechanical damage during harvesting, handling or transport. Bruising is a relevant table olive quality trait since it may cause consumer rejection. In the last decades, olive orchards which were traditionally rainfed are being irrigated in order to increase productivity. However, currently Regulated Deficit Irrigation (RDI) strategies have been implanted in oil olive and recently in table olive orchards. Appropriate RDI strategies reduce total water consumption with little or no effect on production or fruit quality. In this work, the effect on bruise damage at harvest of three RDI treatments based on measurements of water potential during pit hardening compared to optimal plant water status (-1.2 MPa before pit hardening and -1.4 MPa after) has been studied in ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ olives. The strategies were as follows: RDI-1 aimed a moderate water stress at pit hardening (-2.0 MPa) and regular recovery at late August; RDI-2: severe water stress at pit hardening (-3.5 MPa) and early recovery (late July); RDI-3: severe water stress at pit hardening (-3.5 MPa) and regular recovery. This study was performed throughout the fruit growing season. The treatment with the highest Stress Integral (RDI-3) reduced pulp-to-pit ratio (on fresh weight basis) with no effect on fruit weight or oil content and more than 90% of the fruits reaching commercial categories according to the size. Furthermore, this treatment reduced the size of fruit bruises in comparison to early rehydration strategy. © 2019 Elsevier B.V., This research was supported by Spanish Research Agency (AEI) of the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (MINECO) and European Development Fund (FEDER) , projects AGL2013-45922-C2-1-R and AGL2016-75794-C4-4-R.

9 Páginas.-- 1 Figura.-- 5 Tablas, Near Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy was evaluated as a fast and easy method for identifying the most interesting cocoa genotypes according to chemical composition, including bioactive compound contents, in more than 80 samples of cocoa beans from the Mexican Germplasm Bank, which were harvested over three years. Clear differences in chemical composition were detected in fermented and dried samples among genotypes. The contents in fat, protein, total sugars, total phenols, phenolic compounds and theobromine were determined for both whole cocoa beans and ground cotyledon samples; and calibration models were developed from the spectra of intact beans, nibs and ground cotyledons. In general, the calibration models obtained for cotyledon composition from the spectra of cocoa nibs and ground beans were better than those obtained from the spectra of intact beans. Fat content showed better calibration statistic values from the spectra of nibs and ground cotyledon (r2 = 0.70). Bioactive compounds, such as theobromine (r2 = 0.77), total sugars (r2 = 0.74), total phenols (r2 = 0.66) and derivatives of epicatechin (r2 = 0.88), together with fat (r2 = 0.70), protein (r2 = 0.64) and husk content (r2 = 0.82), were well-predicted using NIR spectroscopy in intact beans, cocoa nibs and/or ground cotyledon. The potential of NIRS technology was confirmed to support germplasm banks and breeding programs for the rapid identification of interesting genotypes based on their contents in bioactive compounds., This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) (project AGL2016-79088R), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Ramon y Cajal Programme (RyC2012-10456), the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP-México) and the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT-Mexico).

Airborne methodologies based on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are becoming an extraordinary tool for implementing fast, accurate and affordable phenotyping strategies within plant breeding programs. The aim of this paper was to study the potential use of a previously developed UAV-OBIA platform, to fasten and support decision making for olive breeders regarding the selection of the most promising genotypes in terms of tree geometric traits. In particular, we have studied the feasibility of the system to efficiently classify and select olive genotypes according to four architectural parameters: tree height, crown diameter, projected crown area and canopy volume. These vegetative growth traits and their evolution during the first months after planting are key selection criteria in olive breeding programs. On-ground measurements and UAV estimations were recorded over two years (when trees were 15 and 27 months old, respectively) in two olive breeding trials using different training systems, namely intensive open vase and super high-density hedgerows. More than 1000 young trees belonging to 39 olive accessions, including new cross-bred genotypes and traditional cultivars, were assessed. Even though the accuracy in the UAV estimation compared to the on-ground measurements largely improved the second year, both methodologies detected in both years a high variability and significant differences among the studied genotypes, allowing for statistical comparisons among them. Genotype rankings based on the on-ground measures and UAV estimations were compared. The resulting Spearman’s rank coefficient correlations were very high, at above 0.85 in most cases, which highlights that very similar genotype classifications were achieved from either field-measured or airborne-estimated data. Thus, UAV imagery may be used to assess geometric traits and to develop rankings for the efficient screening and selection of genotypes in olive breeding programs., The breeding field trials in which the experiments were performed are funded by Interaceituna (Spanish Inter-Professional Association for Table Olives) through the FIUS projects PR201402347 and PRJ201703174. This research was partly financed by the AGL2017-83325-C4-4-R Project (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and AEI-EU-FEDER funds), and Intramural-CSIC 201840E002 Projects. Research of A.I. de Castro was supported by the Juan de la Cierva Incorporación Program of the Spanish MINECO funds.

Background Calcium is a preservative and firming agent largely used in the table olive industry. Foliar applications of calcium (as calcium chloride, CaCl2 ) before harvest have been proposed in other fruits to increase firmness and reduce physiological disorders or internal damage. However, there is still a shortage of information regarding the source, the concentration, the number, and the period of calcium application onto the canopy to get an effective response of olive quality. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of two concentrations of CaCl2 foliar treatments (0.5% and 1.0%), applied at different stages of fruit development (at the end of fruit set, end of pit hardening, and prior to harvesting), on olive quality for two varieties ('Manzanilla de Sevilla' and 'Ascolanta tenera'), cultivated in two different geographical areas (Spain and Italy respectively). Results The calcium concentrations applied enhanced the fruit calcium content and decreased sodium and potassium. They also improved the mechanical properties without modifying fruit morphology or cuticle thickness; nor did they cause phytotoxicity. Foliar treatments increased the oil content in the pulp (dry weight basis) and the amount of hydroxytyrosol, tyrosol, and oleuropein, among other phenols. Conclusion Calcium foliar applications during fruit development effectively increase olive quality. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Este trabajo se ha realizado conjuntamente por investigadores de diversas áreas pertenecientes a tres Instituciones Públicas localizadas en Andalucía (IAS-CSIC-Córdoba, Universidad de Sevilla e IFAPA-Córdoba). De forma resumida se presenta una tecnología consistente en el análisis automatizado de imágenes procedentes de un vehículo aéreo no tripulado (UAV) para el fenotipado de genotipos de olivo dentro de varios Programas de Mejora Genética. Se demuestra la utilidad en condiciones de campo de los modelos 3D que se han generado para la reconstrucción de cada olivo con dos objetivos agronómicos: i) fenotipado de variedades y selecciones de olivo en árboles muy jóvenes, y ii) cuantificación del efecto enanizante de variedades de bajo vigor utilizadas como patrones en la variedad "Picual". Los resultados obtuvieron precisiones >85 % en la cuantificación de la arquitectura de cada árbol respecto a los datos tomados desde tierra. Estos resultados han permitido: i) la discriminación entre variedades, y ii) la cuantificación de reducciones de hasta 50 % del volumen copa de `Picual¿ dependiendo del patrón utilizado. La información de la arquitectura 3D (altura, área proyectada o volumen de copa) de cada olivo en una parcela de olivar podría ser asimismo de gran utilidad para conocer numerosos aspectos relacionados con el manejo de las plantaciones, tales como el estados sanitario, nutricional e hídrico y respuesta a la poda, entre otros.

Hyperspectral imaging is a powerful technique that combines the advantages of near infrared spectroscopy and imaging technologies. Most hyperspectral imaging studies focus on qualitative analysis, but there is growing interest in using such technique for the quantitative analysis of agro-food products in order to use them as universal tools. The overall objective of this study was to compare the performance of a hyperspectral imaging instrument with a classical near infrared instrument for predicting chemical composition. The determination of the protein content of wheat flour was selected as example. Spectra acquisition was made in individual sealed cells using two classical near infrared instruments (NIR-DS and NIR-Perstop) and a near infrared hyperspectral line-scan camera (NIR-HSI). In the latter, they were also acquired in open cells in order to study the possibility of accelerating the measurement process. Calibration models were developed using partial least squares for the full wavelength range of each individual instrument and for the common range between instruments (1120–2424 nm). The partial least squares models were validated using the “leave-one-out” cross-validation procedure and an independent validation set. The results showed that the NIR-HSI system worked as well as the classical near infrared spectrometers when a common wavelength range was used, with an r2 of 0.99 for all instruments and Root Mean Square Error in Prediction (RMSEP) values of 0.15% for NIR-HSI and NIR-DS and 0.16% for NIR-Perstop. The high residual predictive deviation values obtained (8.08 for NIR-DS, 7.92 for NIR-HSI, and 7.56 for NIR-Perstop) demonstrate the precision of the models built. In addition, the prediction performance with open cells was almost identical to that obtained with sealed cells.

'Gordal Sevillana' is one of the most important table olive cultivars. It is appreciated for its large size, and fruits are mainly intended for green processing. During harvesting, fruits can be damaged causing important losses in the final product quality. This damage known as “bruising” is characterized by darkening of both the surface and the mesocarp of the fruit due to cell rupture and enzymatic oxidation of phenolic compounds. Our group has developed a methodology to characterize and localize this damage based on morphological and histological studies after an induced impact in fruits of different table olive cultivars. This paper presents the results of the location and evolution over time of bruising damage in the cultivar 'Gordal Sevillana' using this methodology. The total damaged area was quantified in portions of mesocarp tissue of the bruised fruit by image analysis. Later, different quantitative parameters related to the number and location of the tissue ruptures were determined in histological sections of the damaged fruit mesocarp. To observe the progress over time, measurements were made at 0.5, 2 and 24 h after the impact. Our results revealed that the distribution and extent of the damaged area (bruising) in 'Gordal Sevillana' vary with respect to other previously studied cultivars. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the extent of damage increased over time.

More than 11 million ha of olives (Olea europaea L.) are currently grown worldwide, 98% of which are localized in the Mediterranean Basin, with olives being one of the most important fruit trees in the area. The olive fruit is a very particular drupe since it not may be directly consumed but must instead be processed. Table olives and virgin olive oil are the two main processed products derived from olive fruits. Both are considered staple foods of the Mediterranean Diet and have been produced in the area for centuries, presumably since olive domestication occurred approximately 6.000 years ago. Despite their long history and economic importance, the focus on quality is quite recent. The presence of various and copious amounts of bioactive compounds, some of which are exclusive to olives, is drawing attention to the nutraceutical value of these products. This review aims to integrate the available information regarding the quality of table olives and olive oil with a focus on how preharvest factors may affect quality. The first part of the review describes the main quality attributes considered for each product from different perspectives, including the legal, organoleptic and nutritional points of view, among others. The physiological mechanisms involved in fruit development and ripening, which significantly affect the quality of the fruits, i.e., the raw material for obtaining both products, are also discussed. The review also addresses the potential of both the considerable number of traditional olive cultivars and recent olive breeding programs to obtain products with distinct quality attributes (in terms of sensorial profile and bioactive compounds). Finally, the most recent literature concerning the effect of environmental (soil and climate) and agronomical factors (irrigation, fertilization, canopy management and harvesting) is extensively reviewed.

This paper analyses citation patterns in 30 doctoral theses in the field of Education Sciences, submitted at the University of Córdoba (Spain) between 1997 and 2010. A preference was found for citing books as opposed to articles. The most widely-cited journal was a Spanish education-specific publication, Enseñanza de las ciencias. Only a small number of journals from the stock of periodical publications held and managed by the Faculty of Education Sciences Library were cited.

This study describes fruit damage of the Manzanilla de Sevilla and Manzanilla Cacerena cultivars under super high-density conditions at morphological and histological levels. Fruits were harvested both manually and by a grape straddle harvester. Dark spots and tissue ruptures were found throughout the mesocarp of both cultivars, particularly after mechanical harvesting. Quantitative traits previously described by our group were used to evaluate internal damage. ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’ always showed the highest total damaged area in the mesocarp, as well as the highest sum of the areas of all of the tissue ruptures, and number of tissue ruptures intersected by the second circumferential arc. Tissue ruptures in the exocarp were also observed in this cultivar as well as a general increase in this type of damage over time (from 2 to 24 h after harvesting). Investigation of the cuticle and epidermal cell dimensions in undamaged fruits shows that ‘Manzanilla Cacerena’ presents a thicker cuticle and a greater cuticle area per epidermal cell than ‘Manzanilla de Sevilla’. The relationship between these results and the different bruising susceptibilities of the two cultivars studied is discussed.

The need for the olive farm modernization have encouraged the research of more efficient crop management strategies through cross-breeding programs to release new olive cultivars more suitable for mechanization and use in intensive orchards, with high quality production and resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. The advancement of breeding programs are hampered by the lack of efficient phenotyping methods to quickly and accurately acquire crop traits such as morphological attributes (tree vigor and vegetative growth habits), which are key to identify desirable genotypes as early as possible. In this context, an UAV-based high-throughput system for olive breeding program applications was developed to extract tree traits in large-scale phenotyping studies under field conditions. The system consisted of UAV-flight configurations, in terms of flight altitude and image overlaps, and a novel, automatic, and accurate object-based image analysis (OBIA) algorithm based on point clouds, which was evaluated in two experimental trials in the framework of a table olive breeding program, with the aim to determine the earliest date for suitable quantifying of tree architectural traits. Two training systems (intensive and hedgerow) were evaluated at two very early stages of tree growth: 15 and 27 months after planting. Digital Terrain Models (DTMs) were automatically and accurately generated by the algorithm as well as every olive tree identified, independently of the training system and tree age. The architectural traits, specially tree height and crown area, were estimated with high accuracy in the second flight campaign, i.e. 27 months after planting. Differences in the quality of 3D crown reconstruction were found for the growth patterns derived from each training system. These key phenotyping traits could be used in several olive breeding programs, as well as to address some agronomical goals. In addition, this system is cost and time optimized, so that requested architectural traits could be provided in the same day as UAV flights. This high-throughput system may solve the actual bottleneck of plant phenotyping of “linking genotype and phenotype,” considered a major challenge for crop research in the 21st century, and bring forward the crucial time of decision making for breeders., The breeding field trials in which the experiments were performed are funded by Interaceituna (Spanish Inter-professional Association for Table Olives) through the FIUS projects PR201402347 and PRJ201703174. This research was partly financed by the AGL2017-83325-C4-4-R (Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and AEI/EU-FEDER funds), and Intramural-CSIC 201940E074 Projects. Research of AC was supported by the Juan de la Cierva Program-Incorporación of the Spanish MINECO funds.

Cocoa bean husk extract (CBHE)was obtained by thermal treatment at 170 °C for 30 min. The CBHE was added to a virgin olive oil jam in a freeze-dried form or encapsulated. Phenols, theobromine, and antioxidant activity were determined over 28 days in both jams and compared to a control jam. Total phenols, epicatechin, and theobromine were higher in the water fraction of the jam with non-encapsulated extract (J-CBHE)at day 28: 1140, 19.14 and 70 ppm, respectively. For the oil fraction of J-CBHE, total phenols, epicatechin, and theobromine contents were 120, 2.54, and 0.13 ppm at day 28, respectively. The oil content in jam with the non-encapsulated extract showed the best Rancimat induction time, with a 32% increase compared to the control, keeping for longer without becoming rancid. Nevertheless, the jam with encapsulated extract showed the best retention of bioactive compounds during the storage time., This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co-funded by the European Social Fund (project AGL2016-79088R), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Ramon y Cajal Programme (RyC2012-10456), the National Institute of Forestry, Agricultural and Livestock Research (INIFAP-México) and the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT-México).

30 Páginas.-- 4 Figuras.-- 2 Tablas, [Background] Cocoa bean husk (CBH) is the principal by-product of the cocoa industry and a significant agro-industrial residue. In this study, using different hydrothermal treatments of CBH, it is shown that CBH is an important source of bioactive compounds, including theobromine, epicatechin and catechin., [Results] Treatment over 150 °C significantly increased the yield of total and individual phenols and theobromine as well as the antioxidant capacity of the liquid fraction. A total of 52 different genotypes of CBH harvested in two seasons of production were analyzed. Overall, higher amounts of total phenols, theobromine and epigallocatechin were detected in samples from the 2015 season, while samples from 2014 had higher quantities of catechin and similar quantities of epicatechin., [Conclusion] CBH treatment at 170 °C for 30 min produces an antioxidant-rich extract high in phenols (55 mg g), sugars (220 mg g) and theobromine (56 mg g) that is suitable for applications in the food, cosmetic and nutraceutical industries. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry., This research was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and co‐funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) (project AGL2016‐79088R), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness Ramon y Cajal Programme (RyC 2012‐10456) and the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology (CONACYT‐Mexico).