Five cultivars of honeydew and speciality type melons were evaluated in 2001. Performance from all cultivars was less than optimum. Foliage diseases and fruit cracking and rotting resulted in an extremely large percentage of the fruits having to be graded as culls. This also resulted in smaller fruits than desired. ‘Passport’, an early maturing, speciality type melon has characteristics that me...

Conventional end‐of‐pipe solutions for wastewater treatment have been criticized from a sustainable view‐point, in particular regarding recycling of nutrients. The integration of hydroponic cultivation into a wastewater treatment system has been proposed as an ecological alternative, where nutrients can be removed from the wastewater through plant uptake; howeve...

The fresh-cut produce industry has been the fastest-growing portion of the food retail market during the past 10 years, providing consumers with convenient and nutritious food. However, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables raise food safety concerns, because exposed tissue may be colonized more easily by pathogenic bacteria than intact produce. This is due to the higher availability of nutrients on ...

The effects of grafting on Na and Cl(-) uptake and distribution in plant tissues were quantified in a greenhouse experiment using six combinations of melon (Cucumis melo L. cv. Arava) and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima Duchesne×Cucurbita moschata Duchesne cv. TZ-148): non-grafted, self-grafted, melons grafted on pumpkins, and pumpkins grafted on melons. Total Na concentration in shoots of plants wit...

Acinetobacter calcoaceticus P23 is a plant growth-promoting bacterium that was isolated from the surface of duckweed (Lemna aoukikusa). The bacterium was observed to colonize on the plant surfaces and increase the chlorophyll content of not only the monocotyledon Lemna minor but also the dicotyledon Lactuca sativa in a hydroponic culture. This effect on the Lactuca sativa was significant in nut...

In the U.S., tomatoes are only exceeded by potatoes in economic importance. Among fresh vegetable products, annual per capita consumption of fresh tomatoes is only exceeded by lettuce and potatoes. Consumption of fresh tomatoes has remained fairly constant at around 12.8 pounds for the past 10 years as compared to the consumption of processed tomatoes in the form of ketchup and sauces which has...

The effect of gaseous ozone and hot water, alone or in combination, on the sensory and microbial quality of cantaloupe melon was investigated. Escherichia coli O157:H7 transmission from the rind to edible melon flesh during cutting practices was also investigated. Four different treatments consisting of hot water (75 degrees C, 1min), gaseous ozone (10,000ppm, 30min), gaseous ozone supplied by ...