Browse > Article

Effect of Germanium Treatment on the Quality of 'Niitaka' Pear Fruit  

Kim, Tae-Yeon (Seisil corporation)
Kim, Wol-Soo (Chonnam National University, Department of Horticulture)
Choi, Hyun-Sug (University of Arkansas, Department of Horticulture)
Publication Information
Food Science and Preservation / v.16, no.5, 2009 , pp. 675-679 More about this Journal
Abstract
We investigated how Germanium (Ge) application, and the application method, affected 'Niitaka' (Pyrus pyrifolia) fruit quality in a conventional orchard. Ge-treated pears weredark yellow in color, indicating appropriate maturation. Other fruit characteristics, and weight, did not significantly differ between tests and controls. Compared to controls, fruit from Ge-treated trees had more soluble solids, a lower acid content, and fewer stone cells, which reduced fruit chewiness. Ge-treated trees showed a higher Ge concentration in fruit but a lower calcium (Ca) concentration. Other fruit mineral nutrients, includingP, K, and Mg, did not differ in level between Ge-treated fruit and controls. Ge-treated fruit showed greater firmness and a heavier specific weight during 6 months of storage, compared to control fruit. Therefore, Ge treatment reduced fruit pithiness, which can be a problem in 'Niitaka' pears. Overall, there was no significant difference between Ge-treated and control fruit qualities, but a combined Ge treatment (fertilization plus foliar application plus trunk injection) slightly improved fruit quality.
Keywords
Germanium; pear; fertigation; trunk injection; stone cell; fruit quality;
Citations & Related Records
연도 인용수 순위
  • Reference
1 Lee, G.P. and Park, K.W. (2001) Study of selenium and germanium treatment on their accumulation traits and induced antioxidant capacity in 'seoul' lettuce in hydroponics. Acta hortic., 548, 491-496
2 Faust, M. (1989) Fruiting. In: Physiology of temperate zone fruit trees, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., U.S.A., p. 169-234
3 Choi, J.S. (1989) Studies on various factors affecting calcium accumulation in apple fruits. PH.D. Dissertation. Chonnam National University
4 Kim, S.T., Lee, C.W., Choi, B.S. and Lee, B.C. (1988) Determination of germanium in ginseng raidix by hydride generation-inductively coupled plasma spectrometry. J. Kor. Soc. Anal., 1, 203-209
5 Lee, J.E. and Kim, W.S. (2001) Morphological characters of stone cells on the effect on fruit quality of pears. J. Kor. Soc. Hort. Sci., 42, 449-452
6 Kim, O.K., Lee, M.W., Park, W.B., Ham, S.S. and Kung, S.S. (1992) The nutritional components of aerial whole plant and juice of angelica keiskei koidz. K. J. Food Sci. Tech., 24, 592-596
7 Lee, G.P., Park, H.S., Won, J.H. and Park, K.W. (2005) Effect of GeO2 concentration on hydroponically-grown lettuce (Lactuca sativa). J. Kor. Soc. Hort. Sci., 46, 113-118
8 Park, B.W., Lee, J.H. and Kwon, T.O. (1996) Effects of germanium treatment in culture medium on germanium absorption by callus induced from brown rice. J. Kor. Crop Sci., 41, 729-735
9 Fujii, A., Kuboyama, N., Yamane, J., Nakao, S. and Furukawa, Y. (1993) Effect of organic germanium compound (Ge-132) on experimental osteoporosis in rats. Gener. Pharma., 24, 1527-1532
10 Song, W.J., Lee, S.C. and Oh, T.K. (1995) Enzymes, metabolites; preparation of organic germanium by yeast cell. Kor. J. Microbio. Biotech., 23, 87-90
11 Faust, M. (1989) Nutrition of fruit trees. In: Physiology of temperate zone fruit trees, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., U.S.A., p. 53-132
12 Gaspar, T., Penel, C., Castillo, F. J. and Greppin, H. (1985) A two step control of basic and acidic peroxidases and its significance for growth and development. Physiol. Plant. 64, 418-423   DOI
13 Koh, K.S. (1994) Do you know about a fantastic germanium, Ihwa publishing, Seoul, Korea
14 Lee, S.H., Choi, J.H., Kim, W.S., Park, Y.S. and Gemma, H. (2007) Effects of calcium chloride on peroxidase activity and stone cell development in pear fruit (Pyrus pyrifolia) 'Niitaka'. J. Japan. Soc. Hort. Sci. 76, 191-196   DOI