Old and endangered organically cultivated greenhouse tomatoes. effect of the harvest time on the flavour ingredients and consumer acceptance
The study investigated the effect of harvest time of four old and endangered tomato cultivars (‘Ananas’, ‘Auriga’, Green Zebra and ‘Lukullus’), organically grown in a greenhouse, on flavour compounds and consumer acceptance. Measurement of acid and reducing sugars content, aroma volatiles analysis, as well as repeated consumer test were applied. The flavour compound analysis showed that the levels of acid content were mostly not affected by the stage of ripeness, whereas sugars were increased at optimal stage. Consumer tests showed that differences were perceived in several visual and sensory aspects between harvest times and cultivars. Optimal harvest was mostly preferred, nevertheless early harvest was not rejected and in many cases regarder as equal to optimal. Sensory evaluation was poorly interpreted by the aroma volatile profile and only partly by the acid and reducing sugar contents, probably due to the special external characteristics of the tomatoes. Useful information was derived, regarding the extension of the rather short shelf life of these cultivars, essential for planning appropriate market strategies to guarantee their preservation. |  a) Old and endangered tomato cultivars investigated (from top to bottom: Auriga, Green Zebra, Ananas, Lukullus) b) consumers test of the four old and endangered cultivars |
Food System Sustainability: the case of fresh vegetable production and distribution in Crete
Responsible Scientific Investigator: Dr. E. Kabourakis
This study investigated the methods of production and outlined the distribution chain for field fruits and vegetables within the island of Crete, examining the localized and export production. Its purpose was to investigate the island’s potential to develop a fully sustainable, localized food system. The island’s vegetable production is dominated by small diversified farms, soils well suited for production, and a favourable Mediterranean growing climate. These elements provide, in theory, a suitable foundation for the development of a sustainable and localized food system within Crete. The types of farms and production methods and how field fruits and vegetables are distributed throughout and off the island as the first step to determining the current level of food system sustainability have been examined. The findings showed that in the case of field fruits and vegetables, Crete’s consumption is heavily based on locally grown product which is produced on small, diversified farms, leading to the conclusion that Crete’s field fruit and vegetable production is representative to a large extent of a more sustainable model of production and distribution.
Distribution chain for field fruits and vegetables.
Scale Illustration of the Distribution Chain for field fruits and vegetables.
Responses of cucumber to composted pig manure used as sole substrate or in mixtures with perlite at different ratios: impact of the height of the substrate in the bag
Responsible Scientific Investigator: Dr. D. Savvas
As a first step, we attempted to evaluate the use of Creta Fert pig manure in hydroponics: cucumber plants grown on different ratios of composted pig manure and perlite and different bag heights (10, 20cm). In these experiments, sole compost placed in bags at a height of 10 cm gave significantly higher yield and average fruit weight than 20 cm height bags, and statistically surpassed sole perlite. Preliminary results of cucumber plants grown on compost gave a higher total yield or number of fruits compared with those grown on sole perlite (Fig. 1).
Initial data (total fruit weight [A] and total number of fruits [B]) from an early harvesting of cucumber plants grown on different substrates.
Last update: 03 of February, 2012