About Book

Biotechnological tools have revolutionized the entire crop improvement programmes by providing new strains of plants, supply of planting material, more efficient and selective pesticides and improved fertilizers. Many genetically modified fruits and vegetables are already in the market in developed countries. Fruit and nut crop will undoubtedly make a major contribution to increasing the quantity, improving the quality and ensuring the sustainability of agriculture. Modern biotechnology encompasses broad areas of biology from utilisation of living organisms or substances from those organisms to make or to modify a product, to improve plant or animal or to develop micro-organisms for specific use. It is a new aspect of biological and agricultural science which provides new tools and strategies in the struggle against world’s food production problem. This book presents a comprehensive reference work on the current status of biotechnology of the major temperate, fruit and nut crop species of the world. It explores various aspects of transportation pathways, species transformation, antioxidant activity, gamma radiation, phytochemicals, hyperspectral imaging and phytochemical accumulation. This book is a vital resource for those working on the improvement of perennial fruit, nut and plantation crops. This book is an essential resource for scientists and postgraduate students who are engaged in the improvement of perennial fruit, nut and plantation crops and will also be an important accession for university and agricultural research libraries.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Potential Adverse Effects of Alteration of Phytochemical Accumulation in Fruits and Vegetables................................................1

Abstract ..................................................................................................1

1. Introduction ..........................................................................................2

2. Plant metabolites ..................................................................................2

3. Biosynthesis and accumulation of phytochemicals in plants .....3

4. Conclusion .............................................................................................8

Acknowledgements .............................................................................9

Conflict of interest................................................................................9

Chapter 2 Hyperspectral Imaging and Their Applications in the Nondestructive Quality Assessment of Fruits and Vegetables.....12

Abstract.................................................................................................12

1. Introduction ........................................................................................12

2. Hyperspectral imaging technique ..................................................14

3. Nondestructive assessment methods..............................................21

4. Applications in the quality assessment of fruits and

vegetables ............................................................................................34

5. Conclusions .........................................................................................45

Chapter 3 Phytochemicals in Fruits and Vegetables...........................................58

Abstract ................................................................................................58

1. Introduction ........................................................................................58

2. Commonly used methods of treating plant foods.......................60

3. Phytochemical and secondary metabolites present in

plant foods............................................................................................62

4. Phytochemicals as natural preservatives and antimicrobials.....63

5. Other beneficial properties of plant phytochemicals .................65

6. Conclusion ..........................................................................................66

Chapter 4 The Effects of Gamma Radiation in Nectar of Kiwifruit (Actinidia

deliciosa)......................................................................................................70

1. Introduction..........................................................................................70

2. Material and methods........................................................................79

3. Results and discussion.......................................................................82

4. Conclusion............................................................................................85

Chapter 5 Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Small

Fruits............................................................................................................89

1. Introduction..........................................................................................89

2. Materials and methods......................................................................90

3. Black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) fruits.............................................91

4. Raspberry (Rubus idaeus L. and Rubus occidentalis L.) fruits......98

5. Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) fruits...............................104

6. Elderberry (Sambucus nigra L.) fruits............................................106

7. Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) fruits..........................106

8. Conclusions........................................................................................110

Chapter 6 Recent Advances in Fruit Species Transformation........................125

1. Introduction ......................................................................................125

2. Techniques used to transform fruit species.................................127

3. Markers and selection of transformants.......................................141

4. In vitro culture techniques for the recovery of transgenic

plants...................................................................................................148

5. Future perspectives and concluding remarks ............................151

6. Acknowledgements .........................................................................152

Chapter 7 Applications of Biotechnology in Kiwifruit (Actinidia)...............173

1. Introduction........................................................................................173

2. Global significance of kiwifruit ....................................................173

3. Tissue culture and crop improvement.........................................176

4. Transformation systems .................................................................179

5. Actinidia molecular biology ........................................................185

6. Future perspectives and challenges .............................................197

Chapter 8 Transportation Pathway of Potassium and Phosphorous in Grape Fruit............................................................................................................211

1. Introduction........................................................................................211

2. Experimental materials and methods...........................................213

3. Results.................................................................................................214

4. Discussions.........................................................................................220

5. Acknowledgements...........................................................................223

Citation......................................................................................................225

Index...........................................................................................................227

About Author

Cindy Ryler earned her Ph.D. in Botany and Plant Pathology from State University, Oregon. Her academic interests are plant biology, ecosystems and plant diversification. She is a Senior Lecturer at Technological Institute, Veracruz. Ryler has produced several scientific papers and articles for journals as well as book chapters for college textbooks. She has organized many international conferences on agriculture. She also works as a freelance writer and editor of agricultural journal, textbooks and references.