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High yields are needed for profitability under shielded strawberry production. June bearing strawberry cultivars require a short day (SD) period in order to initiate generative growth. Nitrogen availability going into the SD-period, as well as during the period, can affect the process. To increase the knowledge about optimized nitrogen fertilizing, an experiment was set up under controlled conditions. Strawberry plants of the cultivar ‘Sonata’ were grown under combinations of different levels of nitrogen to evaluate its effect on timing on growth, flowering time and the number of flowers produced. The result showed that the time for opening of the first flower, the interaction between the pre-SD nitrogen level and the nitrogen level applied during the SD had the highest impact, and that low levels pre-SD flowered earlier. The number of flowers produced was affected by both pre-SD and SD nitrogen level as well as its interactions. Low nitrogen levels throughout had low yield potential while when low pre-SD nitrogen level was followed by high levels during SD, the yield increased.

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The resilience of global food security is a critical concern. Facing limited access to land and potential disruption of the food markets, alternative, scalable, and efficient production systems are needed as a complementary buffer for maintenance of food production integrity. The purpose of this study was to introduce an alternative hydroponic potato growing system where potatoes are grown in bare wood fiber as a growing medium. A system utilizing drip irrigation and plastic bags as containers was tested for three different types of wood fiber, two cultivars and two fertigation strategies. Implementation of the system resulted in ~300% higher tuber production when compared to the local conventional farming. Mineral composition of the tubers obtained from hydroponic system was similar to the composition of tubers grown in the field and revealed potential for biofortification. In addition, a fertigation strategy where the two application points were separated across the root zone resulted in tubers with dry matter content comparable to the potatoes grown in soil. The recyclability, reusability, and simplicity of this solution may encourage its application for improving security of food production in selected areas of the world as well as its utilization in urban agriculture.

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Wood modification using polyesterification of sorbitol and citric acid is a novel environmentally friendly strategy for wood protection improving its dimensional stability and acts against fungal deterioration. Inelastic Raman scattering is sensitive to the molecules of high polarizability and both lignocellulose and aliphatic esters formed during the treatment are polar. Therefore, in the present study, the quality control of the treatment using a handheld Raman spectrometer equipped with 830 nm laser is suggested as a rapid and reliable approach. Raman spectra from six wood modification levels (resulting in different weight percent gain, WPG) of three different wood species (Silver birch, Scots pine and Norway spruce) as well as three sample preparation strategies (intact, sanded and milled wood samples) were collected, and further analyzed using a chemometric method. Best performing models based on Powered Partial Least Squares Regression predicted the WPG level at R2 = 0.85, 0.95 and 0.98 for birch, pine and spruce, respectively. In addition, a clear separation between hard and soft wood species was also captured. Especially for softwood species, the sample preparation method affected the model accuracy, revealing the best performance in milled material. It is concluded that by using handheld Raman spectrometer it is possible to perform accurate quality control of wood modified by polyesterification of citric acid and sorbitol.

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There is an increased interest in the hydroponic production of strawberries in protected cultivation systems, and it is, therefore, urgent to develop new, more sustainable growing media alternatives. This study investigated the physical properties of wood fiber produced from Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.) and peat:wood fiber substrate blends as well as the performance of the wood fiber in comparison to the industry standards, i.e., peat and coconut coir in the cultivation of hydroponic strawberry. Tray plants of the June-bearing strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) cultivar ‘Malling Centenary’ were transplanted into five different growing media: a peat (80%) and perlite (20%) mixture, stand-alone (100%) coconut coir and three stand-alone (100%) Norway spruce wood fiber substrates (including coarse textured fibers with compact and loose packing density and compacted fine-textured fibers). Ripe strawberries were harvested and registered throughout the production season. The overall marketable yield was comparable across all the tested growing media; however, after 4 weeks of harvest, both coarse wood fiber and fine wood fiber showed better fruiting performance than the peat-perlite mixture. A trend for earlier berry maturation was observed for all wood fiber-based substrates. Plant parameters recorded after the end of production showed that plant height, number of leaves, and biomass production were higher in coarse wood fiber than in the peat-perlite mixture. Moreover, plants grown in wood fiber-based substrates had less unripe berries and flowers not harvested in comparison to both the peat and coir treatments.

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Cultivation of strawberries in greenhouses and polytunnels is increasing, and new sustainable growing media are needed to replace peat and coconut coir. This study investigated the effect of wood fiber and compost as growing media on hydroponically cultivated strawberries. Two experiments were conducted, where the everbearing cultivar ‘Murano’ was grown in mixtures of wood fiber and compost (Experiment 1) and the seasonal flowering cultivar ‘Malling Centenary’ was grown in mixtures of wood fiber and peat (Experiment 2). Additionally, in Experiment 2, the effect of adding start fertilizer was assessed. The yield potential of ‘Murano’ plants was maintained in all substrates compared to the coconut coir control. However, a mixture of 75% wood fiber and 25% compost produced the highest yield, suggesting that mixtures of nutritious materials with wood fiber may improve plant performance. The chemical composition of the berries was not affected by the substrate composition; however, berries from plants grown in the best performing blend had a lower firmness than those grown in coconut coir. ‘Malling Centenary’ plants produced higher yields in substrates enriched with start fertilizer. Generally, the productivity of ‘Malling Centenary’ plants was maintained in blends containing up to 75% of wood fiber mixture even without start fertilizer.

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The morphogenetic changes of the bud meristem during floral initiation in gooseberry were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Six floral stages, similar to those reported for black currants, were identified. We also studied the environmental control of shoot growth and floral initiation of cvs. Mucurines, Pax and Xenia in two experiments in daylight phytotron compartments at 12, 18 and 24°C. Under natural daylength conditions at Ås, Norway (69°40’N), shoot growth started to decline by mid-August and ceased in early September. Cessation of growth was associated with floral initiation at 18 and 12°C, while at 24°C, only ‘Mucurines’ initiated floral primordia. Floral Stage 2 was reached by 3 September in ‘Mucurines’ and ‘Xenia’ at 18 and 12°C and nearly 2 weeks later in ‘Pax’. In a second experiment with controlled photoperiods, all cultivars ceased growing and initiated flowering in 10-h SD within 2–3 weeks, while in 20-h LD, growth continued for 8 weeks without floral initiation. Under 10-h SD conditions, all cultivars initiated flowers also at 24°C. Flowering performance in the following spring verified these results. We conclude that gooseberry is an obligatory SD plant with a critical photoperiod of 15–16 h.

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Horticultural production systems are under pressure to find environmentally friendly growing media. Peat is currently the most popular substrate for fresh potted herbs production; however, this raw material is not sustainable due to the large amount of greenhouse gases released during its harvesting. Therefore, the goal of the study was to test the performance of various commercial wood fiber products and compare them with peat and coir in an ebb-and-flow production system with basil (Ocimum basilicum L. 'Marian'). Basil plants were grown in three different pot sizes (6, 9 and 12 cm in diameter) and under various fertigation regimes (EC 1, 2 and 3). Height and biomass of the plants were recorded when the best performing plants reached the commercial stage. The tallest plants and greatest biomass were produced in peat and coir, however, the results confirm that wood fiber can be a promising substrate alternative. Further research is needed to study, among others topics, how to modify some properties of wood fibers to fulfil their potential as a replacement for non-sustainable growing media in production of herbs in pots.

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It is not known to what degree growth and fruit yield are source-limited in everbearing strawberry plants. The growth and yield performance effect of bi-weekly removal of all runners and/or one or two leaves during the cropping season of tunnel-grown ‘Favori’ everbearing strawberry plants was determined. Plants were grown on a table-top system in an open plastic tunnel under natural light conditions in Norway from May to October. Removal of runners and leaves was bi-weekly from 5 June until 25 September. Fruits were harvested from 5 July to 7 October. Bi-weekly runner removal increased total and marketable yield and number and size of fruits, while increasing leaf thinning had the opposite effects. However, none of the treatments affected the fruit number and yield of the first fruiting flush. The treatments did not affect realization of the yield potential of the plants at planting, whereas the continued floral initiation and fruit growth were enhanced by runner removal. Increasing leaf thinning had the opposite effects. Both floral initiation and fruit growth in heavily flowering and fruiting everbearing strawberry are source-limited owing to the high fruit/leaf ratio of such plants.

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The use of peat as a growing media in horticulture is supposed to be reduced due to negative effects of its production on the environment. Interest in development of alternative growing media is therefore increasing and is enhanced by both political pressure and industry demands. Therefore, the influence of 33 growing media on the performance and productivity of two strawberry cultivars were examined in a polytunnel under Nordic conditions (60.7 N). Alternative substrates including fibers of spruce, birch and flax and coffee grounds were tested standalone or in mixes. Peat and coir were included as controls. Additionally, impregnation of the wood fibers with organic and inorganic substances was examined. All investigated growing media received identical fertigation strategies (EC 1.5). The highest average biomass production was observed for plants grown in bare peat; however, the best yield performance was noted for peat mixed with perlite and for coarse spruce fiber. Strawberries grown in these two best performing substrates showed comparable overall productivity, with 272 and 268 g of berries per plant, respectively. Both peat/perlite mix and the coarse spruce fiber had also a similar weight of berries larger than 25 mm, with 210 and 198 g plant-1, respectively. Moreover, improvement of the substrate structure by adding perlite or wood chips may have had a pronounced effect on fruiting performance. When compared to peat with added perlite (which gave the highest berry yield in the experiment; 272 g plant-1), strawberries grown in pure peat produced only 187 g plant-1. Furthermore, impregnation of spruce fiber with humic acid enhanced fruiting performance by increasing the total yield and number of large berries (≥25 mm). Future prospects for this study include establishment of an optimal structure of spruce fiber substrate suitable for strawberry production and development of the fertigation strategy optimized for the new growing media.

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Potato contributes highly to the global food security. It is predicted that the production of this crop will be negatively affected by future climatic changes. Application of hydroponics for table potato production can mitigate crop loss in highly vulnerable regions. A preliminary small-scale case-study was performed to test theoretical perspectives of hydroponic production of table potatoes in wood fiber by comparing different fiber types and fertigation strategies. Potatoes were also grown in the field to obtain a reference control. Hydroponic production of potato in a stand-alone wood fiber resulted in ca. 200% higher yield, when compared to standard soil cultivation. However, the quality of the tubers was slightly reduced (lower dry matter content). Productivity of table potatoes was affected by the growing medium and fertigation strategy. Production of potatoes in wood fiber is possible and, in the future, might complement the conventional production systems, or even become an important alternative in locations where in-field cultivation is not possible. Nevertheless, the effect of wood fiber properties and the applied fertigation strategy on yield potential and tuber quality should be further studied. Optimization of these factors will be a topic of a following full-scale research.

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Hydroponic production of strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) in protected cultivation systems using substrates (growing media) is gaining popularity worldwide. Therefore, it is necessary to develop more sustainable growing media alternatives. This study focused on growth performance of strawberry plants grown in wood fibre from Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.), in comparison to two industry standards (peat and coco fibres). Plug (tray) plants of the June-bearing strawberry cultivar 'Malling Centenary' and bare root (WBH) plants of cultivar 'Sonata' were transplanted into three different growing media: peat (80%) and perlite (20%) mixture, coconut coir (100%) and Norway spruce wood fibre (100%). The plants received four fertigation strategies (various potassium and nitrogen concentrations) from flowering onwards. Throughout the production season ripe berries were harvested and frozen for later analyses of chemical composition. Plant architecture was also recorded after termination of the experiment. The results revealed that the most significant differences among the majority of the fruit and plant parameters were due to cultivar traits. Strawberries grown in wood fibre produced slightly smaller berries with elevated °Brix and dry matter compared to berries from plants grown in peat and coir. This was most likely caused by the common fertigation strategy applied to all substrates. Nevertheless, among the tested fertigation strategies, application of solutions with elevated potassium resulted in the highest sugar accumulation in berries grown in wood fibre substrate. In general, the experiment revealed relatively negligible differences between the growing media, and we therefore conclude that wood fibre from Norway spruce may be a viable alternative as a growing media in hydroponic strawberry production when the fertigation strategy is precisely adjusted.

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Bærproduksjon i plasttunnel har blitt trukket frem som en løsning for økologisk bærdyrking. Et slikt produksjonssystem er relativt nytt i Norge, og det er behov for mer kunnskap for å optimalisere produksjonen. I perioden 2017-2019 har vi gjennom prosjektet “Økologisk tunnelbær og flytende næring”, finansiert av Kunnskapsutviklingsmidler for økologisk produksjon i NIBIO, hatt ulike forsøk ved forskningsstasjonene Holt og Apelsvoll for å øke kunnskapen om dyrkingstekniske utfordringer for økologisk bærproduksjon.

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BACKGROUND: Bud dormancy is a quantitative condition that is gradually acquired and lost. Better and more convenient methods for assessment of the time of dormancy entrance of woody plants are highly needed. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate a simple and convenient method for determination of dormancy in woody plants. METHODS: We employed a seasonal series of soft tipping of vigorously growing annual shoots and used the loss of ability of subtending lateral buds to break and grow as a measure of entrance into dormancy. RESULTS: There was a gradual decline in the ability of the buds to burst and grow during the month of July and early August, culminating with a complete loss of this ability. This coincided with the known time of growth cessation and dormancy induction in shoots of intact plants and occurred in the berry shrubs raspberry and black currant and the forest tree silver birch. CONCLUSIONS: The decline and loss of ability of the buds to grow during late summer is a direct expression of the entrance of buds into the state of endodormancy, rendering the tipping method a simple and convenient method for precise determination of the time of entrance into dormancy in woody plants.

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Introduction Blackcurrant (Ribes nigrum L.) is an excellent example of a “super fruit” with potential health benefits. Both genotype and cultivation environment are known to affect the chemical composition of blackcurrant, especially ascorbic acid and various phenolic compounds. Environmental conditions, like temperature, solar radiation and precipitation can also have significant impact on fruit chemical composition. The relevance of the study is further accentuated by the predicted and ongoing changes in global climate. Objectives The aim of the present study was to provide new knowledge and a deeper understanding of the effects of post flowering environmental conditions, namely temperature and day length, on fruit quality and chemical composition of blackcurrant using an untargeted high performance liquid chromatography–photo diode array–mass spectrometry (HPLC– PDA–MS) metabolomics approach. Methods A phytotron experiment with cultivation of single-stemmed potted plants of blackcurrant cv. Narve Viking was conducted using constant temperatures of 12, 18 or 24 °C and three different photoperiods (short day, short day with night interruption, and natural summer daylight conditions). Plants were also grown under ambient outdoor conditions. Ripe berries were analysed using an untargeted HPLC–PDA–MS metabolomics approach to detect the presence and concentration of molecules as affected by controlled climatic factors. Results The untargeted metabolomics dataset contained a total of 7274 deconvolved retention time-m/z pairs across both electrospray ionisation (ESI) positive and negative polarities, from which 549 metabolites were identified or minimally annotated based upon accurate mass MS. Conventional principal component analysis (PCA) in combination with the Friedman significance test were applied to first identify which metabolites responded to temperature in a linear fashion. Multi-block hierarchical PCA in combination with the Friedman significance test was secondly applied to identify metabolites that were responsive to different day length conditions. Temperature had significant effect on a total of 365 metabolites representing a diverse range of chemical classes. It was observed that ripening of the blackcurrant berries under ambient conditions, compared to controlled conditions, resulted in an increased accumulation of 34 annotated metabolites, mainly anthocyanins and flavonoids. 18 metabolites were found to be regulated differentially under the different daylength conditions. Moreover, based upon the most abundant anthocyanins, a comparison between targeted and untargeted analyses, revealed a close convergence of the two analytical methods. Therefore, the study not just illustrates the value of non-targeted metabolomics approaches with respect to the huge diversity and numbers of significantly changed metabolites detected (and which would be missed by conventional targeted analyses), but also shows the validity of the non-targeted approach with respect to its precision compared to targeted analyses. Conclusions Blackcurrant maturation under controlled ambient conditions revealed a number of insightful relationships between environment and chemical composition of the fruit. A prominent reduction of the most abundant anthocyanins under the highest temperature treatments indicated that blackcurrant berries in general may accumulate lower total anthocyanins in years with extreme hot summer conditions. HPLC–PDA–MS metabolomics is an excellent method for broad analysis of chemical composition of berries rich in phenolic compounds. Moreover, the experiment in controlled phytotron conditions provided additional knowledge concerning plant interactions with the environment.

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The predicted and ongoing climate warming is expected to affect many aspects of plant development. We analysed data from a 31-year series of observations (1985–2016) on spring phenology and flowering and fruiting performance of three plum cultivars in an experimental orchard at Ås in southeast Norway (59° 40′N; 10° 50′E). Regression analyses revealed a trend of increasing March and April temperature during the study period that was highly significantly (P <  0.001) negatively correlated with the date of full bloom (FB). On average for all cultivars, blooming was advanced by 10 days over the study period. August and September temperature, which also increased significantly during the study period, was closely positively correlated with the amount of flowering in the subsequent spring and also interacted with early spring temperature in advancing blooming time. Investigation of the time of floral initiation in two of the studied plum cultivars revealed that the transition to reproductive development took place in early to mid-August. This finding strongly suggests that the close positive correlation between August-September temperature and the amount of flowering in plum observed in this and other studies, is causally linked to a specific physiological effect of elevated temperature on the flower bud formation process. Increasing March and April temperatures during the last 30 years has advanced blooming and spring phenology in plum and the resulting extension of the growing season has led to increasing fruit size at harvest. We conclude that so far, the ongoing climate warming appears to have been positive for plum production in the cool Nordic environment. However, an increasing risk of frost associated with earlier blooming will represent a potential negative effect of continued warming.

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The effect of controlled nutrient feeding during the period of short day (SD) induction of flowering has been studied in three SD berry crops. An experimental system with standardized plant material grown with trickle fertigation in controlled environments was used. In strawberry, flowering was advanced and increased when an additional N pulse was given 1-2 weeks after commencement of a 4-week SD induction period, while the opposite resulted when the treatment was applied 2 weeks before start of SD. In blackcurrant, the highest flowering and yield were obtained when fertilization was applied shortly after the natural photoperiod had declined to the inductive length in September. While generous nutrient supply during spring and summer reduced berry soluble solids in blackcurrant, this was not observed with autumn fertilization. Autumn fertilization did not adversely affect plant winter survival or growth vigour in spring. Withdrawal of fertilization prior to, or at various stages during floral induction, did not significantly affect flowering and yield in raspberry, but marginally advanced flowering and fruit ripening.

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We examined the influence of fertigation on vegetative and generative parameters of strawberry plants (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) and evaluated rapid analysing tools for N and K in leaf tissue. The experiments were undertaken in an open polytunnel on “table top” with ‘Sonata’ and ‘Korona’ grown in 2-L pots filled with a peat-based soil mixture. The experimental design was a randomized plot with three replications. Plants were fertigated with EC levels of 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 mS cm-1, based on two stock solutions of 7.5 kg YaraLiva™ Calcinit and 7.5 kg Kristalon™ Indigo, both dissolved in 100 L of water. Percentage N and K in leaves differed between analysing methods, cultivars, EC and date. We found interactions between the cultivar and EC level and between date and cultivar for N and K in leaf. Analysing NO3- by a photometric method (PM) in a lab, and by Laqua twin (LT), showed significant interaction with N% of leaf dry matter (DM) only for LT (r2=0.36). N% increased with higher EC level, more for ‘Korona’ than for ‘Sonata’. LT K+ did not correlate with K% (r2=0.014). The number of crowns and runners increased for both cultivars up to EC 1.5, while the number of leaves was unaffected. Petioles were the shortest at the lowest EC. Flower initiation was earlier at low EC in both cultivars. In the following spring, the time to flowering and first harvest was reduced with the decreasing EC. The number of flowers per plant increased up to EC 1.5, but dropped strongly at EC 2.0 for ‘Korona’, while ‘Sonata’ had a gradual increase of flowers with the increasing EC, but the number was only a third of ‘Korona’, except at EC 2.0, where the amount was equal for both cultivars. The conclusion can be drawn that LT correlated better than ChlDualex with N in strawberry leaves. However, r2 was only 0.36 indicating that LT NO3- is a coarse management tool. LT K+ was not a promising tool for rapid K+ test in these experiments. ‘Korona’ seemed to benefit of higher N levels for both vegetative growth and generative development than ‘Sonata’ up to EC 1.5, but ‘Sonata’ reached a higher floral primordia development stage in early October.

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BACKGROUND Marked effects of the climatic environment on fruit chemical composition have often been demonstrated in field experiments. However, complex covariations of several climatic factors in the natural environment complicate the interpretation of such experiments and the identification of the causal factors. This can be better achieved in a phytotron where the various climatic factors can be varied systematically. Therefore, we grew four black currant cultivars of contrasting origin in a phytotron under controlled post-flowering temperature and photoperiod conditions and analysed the berries for their ascorbic acid, sugar and organic acid contents. RESULTS The analyses revealed significant effects of genotype on all investigated compounds. Particularly large cultivar differences were observed in the concentrations of l-ascorbic acid (AA) and sucrose. The concentrations of both AA and dehydroascorbic acid (DHAA), as well as the concentrations of all major sugars, decreased consistently with an increasing temperature over the temperature range 12–24 °C. Fructose and glucose were the predominant sugars with concentrations several fold higher than that for sucrose. AA was the main contributor to the total ascorbate pool in black currant berries. The AA/DHAA ratio varied from 5.6 to 10.3 among the studied cultivars. The concentration of citric acid, which was the predominant organic acid in black currant berries, increased with an increasing temperature, whereas the opposite trend was observed for malic and shikimic acid. Quninic acid was always present at relatively low concentrations. By contrast, photoperiod had no significant effect on berry content of any of the investigated compounds. CONCLUSION It is concluded that the post-flowering temperature has marked effects on the concentration of important chemical compounds responsible for taste and nutritional value of black currant berries, whereas photoperiod has no such effect in the studied cultivars. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry

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The effect of fertility status and temperature conditions during floral induction on flowering, berry yield,and weight and drupelet numbers of individual berries were studied in ‘Glen Ample’ raspberries grownunder controlled conditions. Withdrawal of normal fertilization prior to and at various stages duringfloral induction did not affect yield and berry size, but marginally advanced flowering and fruit ripening.The successive stages of floral initiation and differentiation were studied and identified by scanning elec-tron microscopy of the uppermost lateral buds of plants grown for six weeks under naturally decreasingautumn photoperiods at temperatures of 9, 15 and 21◦C. Low temperature advanced floral initiation, andadvanced and enhanced flowering and berry yield in the following season. However, at variance fromearlier studies, the plants eventually initiated flower primordia even at 21◦C. Marginal low temperatureand short day conditions during the last days before the temperature treatments were started on 17September might possibly have reduced the subsequent induction requirements enough to explain thisunexpected result. Correlation analyses revealed an over-all positive correlation between fruit weightand drupelet numbers (r = 0.568, P = 0.01). In berries from the early harvests, the number of drupelets perberry increased with decreasing temperature, while the numbers converged to the same level regardlessof temperature in the later harvests. Based on the progress of the floral initiation process at the vari-ous temperatures, we interpret this to mean that only the early initiated flowers, that gave rise to theearly maturing berries, were differentiated during the actual period of controlled temperature exposure,whereas the remaining flowers were differentiated afterwards when all plants were exposed to identicallow temperature conditions. Increased femaleness under optimal floral induction conditions is in agree-ment with results in both monoecious and dioecious plants and circumstantial evidence suggest that,in the raspberry, this might be mediated by changes in gibberellin activity which acts as a male sexualhormone in plants and is known to inhibit growth cessation and floral initiation in raspberry.

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Berry yield and chemical composition of four commercial black currant cultivars were recorded in a field experiment in Norway over an 8-year period and related by linear regression analysis to temperature and precipitation conditions prevailing during the May-July preharvest period. Highly significant differences between cultivars and among years were found for all measured parameters. Fruit dry matter, soluble solids and pH were positively correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with precipitation during May-July, while yield, berry weight, and the concentration of total phenols and ascorbic acid showed the opposite relationship, being highly negatively correlated with temperature and positively correlated with precipitation. Similar black currant experiments elsewhere in Europe have often given deviating results, varying from opposite to no effects of the same weather variables, suggesting that fruit composition is influenced by several interacting genetic and environmental parameters. We conclude that differences in local weather and soil conditions and the use of different cultivars complicate direct comparison of such field experiments. Nevertheless, the observed strong and opposite correlations with precipitation and temperature suggest an inherently low drought tolerance of black currant plants.

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The effects of postflowering temperature and daylength on the concentration of individual phenolic compounds were studied in black currant (Ribes nigrum L.) berries under controlled phytotron conditions. The four cultivars studied varied greatly in their concentrations of individual phenolic compounds and temperature stability for accumulation. The concentrations of a wide range of identified phenolic compounds were strongly influenced by temperature over the 12–24 °C range, often with opposite temperature gradient patterns for compounds within the same subclass. Accumulation of anthocyanins and flavonols increased under natural long day conditions, which provided an increased daily light integral, while under identical light energy conditions, photoperiod had little or no effect on the concentration of phenolic compounds. Furthermore, with the exception of members of the hydroxycinnamic acid subclass, the concentration of most phenolic compounds was higher in berries ripened outdoors than in the phytotron, apparently due to screening of UV-B radiation by the glass cover.