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Science Apples and pears: which rots first and why? Scientists now know!
Science Apples and pears: which rots first and why? Scientists now know! | Apples and pears: which rots first and why? Scientists now know! |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Monday, 14 July 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 2 The Belgium researchers specifically performed the study because they wanted to find out the best way to store fruit after it is picked off the trees and before it is taken to grocery store shelves. Better storage means less spoilage, and less fruit thrown away (and less money wasted) for the food industry. Featured Whitepaper
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Science DiscussionsThe results of the study showed that apples are more efficient at getting oxygen into its cells than pears. Now, the scientists understand not only what the cavities and micro-channels look like inside fruits but also how they perform. The Verboven team was able to describe the processes of respiration, gas exchange, and fermentation that take place inside fruits. Specifically for their study, the researchers found that there is less water in apples, which decreases the flow of oxygen gas inside the fruit. In addition, although the channels in pears are connected they just do not perform as efficiently as the larger pores in apples--for allowing oxygen to pass through to the inner core. They stated within their abstract to their paper, “The apple (Malus domestica) cortex contains considerably larger parenchyma cells and voids than pear (Pyrus communis) parenchyma. Voids in apple often are larger than the surrounding cells and some cells are not connected to void spaces. The main voids in apple stretch hundreds of micrometers but are disconnected. Voids in pear cortex tissue are always smaller than parenchyma cells, but each cell is surrounded by a tight and continuous network of voids, except near brachyssclereid groups.” Dr. Verboven (who is associated with the Division of Mechatronics, Biostatistics and Sensors, at Catholic University, Leuven, Belgium) stated, "If we know how the pears get into storage, we can better predict how they will behave. From season to season, from batch to batch, even from orchard to orchard - we can give advice to the grower, saying 'well, for these pears, you may have to elevate the oxygen concentration in your storage room because there is the potential for problems'." [BBC News] The research was first published in the journal Plant Physiology on April 16, 2008, under the title “Three-Dimensional Gas Exchange Pathways in Pome Fruit Characterized by Synchrotron X-Ray Computed Tomography” (147: 518-527; 10.1104/pp.108.118935). Its authors are: Pieter Verboven, Greet Kerckhofs, Hibru Kelemu Mebatsion, Quang Tri Ho, Kristiaan Temst, Martine Wevers, Peter Cloetens, and Bart M. Nicolaï The authors are associated with the: Division BIOSYST-MeBioS, Research Group of Materials Performance and Non-Destructive Evaluation, and Nuclear and Radiation Physics Section, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, BE–3001 Leuven, Belgium; and European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 38043 Grenoble cedex, France. |
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