Progress 08/15/08 to 08/14/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The assessment at fifteen sites to ascertain cultural practices has identified the probable causes of decline in Arkansas blueberry plantings. Collaborations with the growers are being evaluated to gauge the effectiveness of the methods implemented to affect the air- and soil-borne pathogens and the soil fertility. It is intended that this blueberry work will provide a template to use for production of other berries and small fruits. An additional blueberry cultivar evaluation plot (organic and traditional) has been planted at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Station. The strawberry harvest season extension work has seen the construction of two hightunnels, the building of an irrigation system, and plantings of two day-neutral cultivars at two different times. The project evaluating juice blended from fresh blueberries, fresh blackberries and Concord grade juice concentrate was completed. Descriptive panelists were able to identify differences in attributes among the different juice treatments, but did not perceive differences among the different storage periods. Blends with more Concord had higher consumer acceptance, and consumers indicated a willingness to pay more for blends with higher anthocyanins content. A project testing composition and sensory analysis of wine blends is nearing completion. Blueberry juice processing by-products are a rich source of procyanidins. Most of the procyanidins present in blueberry pomace, however, are large oligomers and polymers that are poorly absorbed and show weak bioactivity compared to the smaller monomers and dimers. A study to identify optimal extrusion variables to enhance the contents of monomers and dimers demonstrated that extrusion processing can be used to increase procyanidin monomer and dimers in blueberry pomace. Another study demonstrated that blueberry jams should be stored refrigerated to better retain polyphenolics and antioxidant capacity. Work continued on the production of lactic acid from the byproducts from the processing of specialty crops. Each byproduct was specifically processed to maximize the release of fermentable sugars into a fermentation broth and subsequently fermented. All byproducts were able to produce lactic acid without supplementation with concentrations that varied between 2 and 4 percent. The highest yield was from cucumbers, watermelons, and white potatoes. The objective of the next phase of this research is to increase the concentration to at least 10 percent. Three comprehensive Research Reports were published to provide assistance to growers with respect to pre- and post-harvest safety considerations and the production and marketing of value-added products. Project 2190 is also reported as ARK02250. PARTICIPANTS: Elena Garcia, PhD, Associate Professor and Ext. Hort. Spec. - Fruits Luke Howard, PhD, Professor; Ruben Morawicki, PhD, Assistant Professor; Pamela L. Brady, PhD, Food Scientist and Adjunct Professor; Gary L. Main, PhD, Post Doctoral Associate; Renee T. Threlfall, PhD, Post Doctoral Associate TARGET AUDIENCES: Small farm growers, Organic growers, Entrepreneurs marketing value-added products, Growers' marketing cooperatives, Food packaging suppliers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
State blueberry growers have been very supportive of the blueberry assessment and extremely cooperative in working with us. A blueberry production workshop was held at the Arkansas Agricultural Research and Extension Station. It is expected that blueberry production will increase even if acreage of plantings continues to fall. Such an assessment can also be done for other berries and small fruits important in Arkansas. The extension of harvest season through the use can be an important way to increase specialty crop production in Arkansas. The project's work on identifying new value-added uses for specialty crops as well as identifying and supporting additional retail outlets for them will increase the viability of small farms in the State. Many of the crops are rich in phenolic compounds. Increased investigation into the delivery of, and increasing the bioactivity of, these compounds will increase demand for the crops as well as the price that can be obtained from the value-added products made from them as the consumer better understands the health benefits obtained from them.specialty crops. Additional demand will also be created as investigations to characterize and develop new healthy food ingredients, medical compounds, and pharmaceuticals from these compounds continue. The use of byproducts from the processing of fruits and vegetables provides a sustainable solution for the production of lactic acid, increasing value of the crops while reducing the size and cost of the waste stream. The "plastic" used for food packaging ultimately derived from the use of this "waste" will conserve food products as it substitutes for petroleum-based polymers. Four oral presentations and two poster presentations were made at three different national meetings. Three research publications are in writing.
Publications
- Brady, P.L., Thomsen, M.R. and Morris, J.R. 2010. Marketing Options for Grapes and Grape Products. Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report #988.
- Brady, P.L., Seideman, S. and Morris, J.R. 2009. Choosing and using a co-packer. Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report #985.
- Brady, P.L. and Morris, J.R. 2009. Good agricultural and handling practices for grapes and other fresh produce. Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Report #984.
- Howard, L.R., Castrodale, C., Brownmiller, C. and Mauromoustakos, A. 2010. Jam processing and storage effects on blueberry polyphenolics and antioxidant capacity. J. Agric. Food Chem. 58:4022-4029.
- Khanal, R.C., Howard, L.R. and Prior, R.L. 2010. Effect of heating on the stability of grape and blueberry pomace procyanidins and total anthocyanins. Food Research International 43(5):1464-1469.
- Khanal, R.C., Howard, L.R. and Prior, R.L. 2009. Procyanidin composition of selected fruits and fruit by-products is affected by extraction method and variety. J. Agric. Food Chem. 57:8839-8843.
- Morris, J.R. and Main, G.L. 2010. Response of Concord grapevines to varied shoot positioning and pruning methods in a warm, long-season growing region. Am. J. Enol. Vitic. 61:201-213.
- White, B.L., Howard, L.R. and Prior, R.L. 2010. Polyphenolic composition and antioxidant capacity of extruded cranberry pomace. J. Agric. Food Chem. 58:4037-4042.
- Monrad, J.K., Howard, L.R., King, J.W. and Srinivas, K. 2010. Sub-critical solvent extraction of procyanidins from dried red grape pomace. J. Agric. Food Chem. 58:4014-4021.
|
Progress 08/15/08 to 08/14/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The overall goal of the project is to enable growers, producers, and processors to develop profitable production systems for providing wholesome, safe and nutritious specialty crops that promote human health. Activities involving blueberries were chosen to serve as a template for the types of investigations and activities that can be applied to other specialty crops. Blueberries are a specialty crop of particular interest because of potential market value and their contribution to human health. Blueberries contain significant levels of antioxidants and other health-promoting compounds. Fifteen sites growing blueberries were selected for an assessment to ascertain cultural practices. Insect traps were set to determine presence or absence of several insects. Foliar samples showing disease symptoms were collected and sent to the plant diagnostic clinic to determine the casual organism. Disease management recommendations have followed the diagnoses. Additional visits to each grower collected foliar samples to determine the presence of viruses and the nutritional status of the plants. The work will be expanded and continued to provide comparative results. Juice is being produced from fresh blueberries, fresh blackberries and Concord grade juice concentrate. After pasteurization, the samples are being stored at 2C and 21C for 0, 30, 60 and 90 days to study the effects of interactions among multiple juices. Compositional analyses performed on the fruit, juice and juice blends included pH, soluble solids, total phenolics, total anthocyanins, Oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC), anthocyanin content and color analysis. Consumer evaluation and descriptive flavor profiling will be conducted by the Sensory and Consumer Research Program, evaluating the juices produced using the Mixture Design Model to create an optimized juice blend. A project is underway to identify the potential anti-staphylococcal and prebiotic properties of blueberry byproducts. These blueberry fruit waste materials could be marketed as nutraceutical ingredients. The inhibitory effect of crude blueberry extracts and purified phenolic extracts upon the antibiotic-resistant S. aureus strains are being tested, seeking to identify the mode of the antimicrobial mechanism of blueberry extracts. The prebiotic potential of blueberry products for probiotics will be studied. Thus a new avenue for adding value to Arkansas grown blueberries may be developed. Another project is looking at the production of lactic acid from byproducts of specialty crops. The lactic acid is a raw material for the production of polylactic acid or PLA, a renewable resource used as a substitute of some petroleum based polymers for food packaging. Wastes from the processing of fruits and vegetables contain important amounts of sugar and starch that could be converted into lactic acid. The first phase demonstrated that by-products from carrots, cucumbers, watermelon, sweet potatoes and potatoes produce significant amounts of sugars. Fermentation trials will be started to test the capability of these byproducts to produce lactic acid. The study will then be expanded to additional by-products. PARTICIPANTS: Elena Garcia, PhD, Associate Professor and Ext. Hort. Spec. - Fruits Luke Howard, PhD, Professor Jean-Francois Meullenet, PhD, Professor Ruben Morawicki, PhD, Assistant Professor Pamela L. Brady, PhD, Food Scientist and Adjunct Professor Gary L. Main, PhD, Post Doctoral Associate Renee T. Threlfall, PhD, Post Doctoral Associate Partner Organizations: Arkansas Blueberry Growers Association Gillam Farms Institute of Food Science and Engineering, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture TARGET AUDIENCES: Small farm growers Organic growers Entrepreneurs marketing value-added products Growers' marketing cooperatives Food packaging suppliers PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Growers have been very supportive of the blueberry assessment and extremely cooperative in working with us. Their growers association has indicated that they will fund more foliar analysis per site to augment our work, enabling us to better determine the nutritional status of the plantings. Two cultivar evaluation plots have been established at two substations of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station with eight cultivars per site, replicated to evaluate cultivar performance under conventional and organic systems. Berries, including blueberries, are rich in phenolic compounds, which are classified into four main groups: flavonoids, phenolic acids, lignanas, and polymeric tannins. Antimicrobial activity of plant phenolics has been intensively studied, and in addition to controlling invasion and growth of plant pathogens, their activity against human pathogens has been investigated to characterize and develop new healthy food ingredients, medical compounds, and pharmaceuticals. Polylactic acid or PLA, is a "plastic" made from renewable resources that can be used as a substitute of some petroleum based polymers for food packaging. Currently, PLA is produced at industrial scale via fermentation of pure substrates like glucose obtained from corn starch. The drawback of this practice is that a food product is used to produce packaging materials. The use of wastes from the processing of fruits and vegetables provides an effective, cost effective, sustainable solution for the production of lactic acid.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|