O amadurecimento é um processo complexo formado por alterações metabólicas, que ocorrem após o fruto atingir a sua maturidade fisiológica. O tomate é um fruto climatérico, usado como modelo para estudo do papel do etileno durante o amadurecimento. A pimenta é um fruto não-climatérico, pertencente à mesma família que o tomate, e por conta disso, pode apresentar similaridades no desenvolvimento de diversos atributos de qualidade durante o amadurecimento, como o aroma. A maioria dos compostos voláteis em frutos deriva dos carboidratos, lipídeos e aminoácidos, sendo a via das lipoxigenases a responsável pela formação de voláteis C6. Devido a sua importância no processo de regulação do amadurecimento em frutos, o etileno possui um papel fundamental para a formação do aroma, no entanto, outros hormônios como o metil jasmonato (MeJA), também possuem um papel importante nesse processo. O presente trabalho visa avaliar os papéis dos hormônios etileno e MeJA na formação dos compostos voláteis do aroma em tomate Grape (Solanum lycopersicum) e pimenta malagueta (Capsicum frutescens) durante o amadurecimento. Os frutos foram tratados com MeJA, Etileno, 1MCP e MeJA+1MCP, com posteriores análises de voláteis e níveis dos transcritos de genes para as enzimas lipoxigenase (LOX), álcool desidrogenase (ADH) e hidroperóxido liase (HPL), que participam da formação dos voláteis derivados da via dos ácidos graxos. Os resultados mostraram que os tratamentos hormonais causaram mudanças claras na composição do aroma de pimenta e tomate, mas muitos desses resultados deixaram evidente a natureza climatérica e não-climatérica desses frutos. Diferentemente do que aconteceu em pimenta, foi possível visualizar uma íntima relação entre MeJA e etileno na formação do aroma em tomate, principalmente nos voláteis derivados da via dos carotenoides. Em tomate, foi possível observar que a expressão dos transcritos dos genes da via dos ácidos graxos, LOX, ADH e HPL, e da via dos carotenoides, CCD1A e CCD1B, foi diminuída pela ação de 1MCP, mesmo quando esteve associado à MeJA. O tratamento com MeJA aumentou voláteis C6 em pimenta e tomate. Particularmente em tomate, essa elevação foi associada ao aumento na expressão de LOXC e HPL, um dia após a aplicação do hormônio. Quando o tomate se tornou completamente maduro, não foram constatadas tantas diferenças em relação aos outros tratamentos, exceto pelo aumento evidente dos compostos derivados da via dos carotenoides, beta-ionona e 6-metil-5-hepten-2-ol. No primeiro dia de tratamento com MeJA em pimenta, verificou-se um aumento evidente nos níveis da maioria dos ésteres, inclusive os hexílicos de cadeia alifática, que são derivados dos voláteis C6 da via dos ácidos graxos. Além disso, também apresentaram aumento evidente, logo no primeiro dia após o tratamento com MeJA, os compostos 2-isobutil-3-metoxipirazina e 3-careno, sendo esses dois últimos os compostos que fornecem a nota aromática mais característica de pimenta. Quando as pimentas amadureceram completamente, constatou-se um aumento estatisticamente significativo, proporcionado por MeJA, nos voláteis C6 (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, 3-hexen-1-ol e hexanal, sendo esse último um dos grandes contribuidores para o aroma desse fruto. / Ripening is a complex process formed by metabolic changes that occur after fruit physiological maturity. Tomato is a climacteric fruit, used as a model to study the role of ethylene during ripening. Pepper is a non-climacteric fruit, belonging to the same family as the tomato, and because of this, may present similarities in the development of several attributes of quality during maturation, such as aroma. Most of volatile compounds in fruits derives from carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids, and lipoxygenases pathway is responsible for C6 volatiles production. Due to its importance in the fruit ripening regulation process, ethylene plays an important role in aroma production; however, other hormones, such as methyl jasmonate (MeJA), also play a significant role during fruit ripening. The present work aims to evaluate the roles of ethylene and MeJA hormones in the formation of aroma compounds in tomato Grape (Solanum lycopersicum) and chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens) during ripening. Fruits were treated with MeJA, Ethylene, 1MCP in MeJA+1MCP, followed by analysis of volatile compounds and levels of gene transcripts for the enzymes lipoxygenase (LOX), alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and hydroperoxide lyase (HPL), which participate of production of volatile compounds derived from the fatty acid pathway. The results showed that hormonal treatments caused changes in pepper and tomato aroma composition, but many of these results made evident the climacteric and non-climacteric nature of these fruits. Unlike what happened in pepper, it was possible to visualize an intimate relationship between MeJA and ethylene under the tomato aroma compounds, mainly in the formation of carotenoid-derived volatiles. In tomato, it was possible to observe that the expression of the fatty acid pathway gene transcripts, LOX, ADH and HPL, and carotenoid pathway, CCD1A and CCD1B, were reduced by 1MCP action, even when it was associated with MeJA. MeJA treatment increased C6 volatiles in pepper and tomato. Particularly in tomato, this elevation was associated with an increase in the LOXC and HPL expression, one day after the hormone treatment. When tomato became fully mature, there were not so many differences compared to the other treatments, except for the evident increase of the carotenoid-derived volatile compounds, beta-ionone and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-ol. On the first day of treatment with MeJA in pepper, there was a clear increase in the levels of most esters, including the aliphatic chain hexils, which are derived from the C6 volatiles of the fatty acid pathway. In addition, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine and 3-carene compounds also showed evident increase, the first two days after treatment with MeJA, the latter two being the compounds that provide the most characteristic aromatic note of pepper. When the peppers reach their complete maturation, there was an increase, under MeJA treatment, in the C6 volatiles (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, 3-hexen-1-ol and hexanal, which is one of the most important aroma compounds in peppers.

Os alimentos fornecem não somente nutrientes essenciais necessários para a vida, mas também compostos bioativos com propriedades biológicas ditas promotoras da saúde, tais como atividades antioxidante, antiinflamatória e anticarcinogênica de nutrientes como as vitaminas C, A e E, e de compostos fenólicos como os flavonóides. De maneira geral, a capacidade antioxidante de frutos e hortaliças está relacionada aos teores destes compostos, que impedem a ação dos radicais livres e são o foco de interesse deste trabalho. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar fontes potenciais de compostos bioativos através da determinação dos teores de flavonóides, ácido elágico, vitamina C, capacidade antioxidante e inibição de α-glicosidase e α-amilase de frutas e polpas de frutas nativas. Foram analisadas 16 frutas e 6 polpas congeladas de frutas nativas, e destas, camu-camu, cupuaçu, coquinho azedo e cagaita mostraram-se excelentes fontes de vitamina C. Camu-camu, cambuci, uxi e tucumã e as polpas de cambuci, cagaita, coquinho azedo e araçá foram as amostras que apresentaram melhor capacidade antioxidante. Os flavonóides de maior incidência entre as amostras foram quercetina e caempferol. O ácido elágico foi detectado apenas em umbu, camu-camu, cagaita, araçá e cambuci e o teor variou de 218 a 512 mg/100 g de amostra seca. Cambuci e cagaita foram as amostras mais eficientes em inibir α-glicosidase e α-amilase. Em suma, este trabalho mostrou que as frutas nativas brasileiras também podem ser consideradas boas fontes de compostos bioativos. / Foods provide not only essential nutrients for life, but also bioactive compounds with health-promoting properties such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and hypocholesterolemic activities, which have been related with vitamins A, C and E and phenolics compounds such as flavonoids. In general, antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables is linked to the amount of these compounds, which are effective against free radicals. Therefore, the aim of this work was to identify potential sources of bioactive compounds through determination of flavonoids, ellagic acid and vitamin C contents, antioxidant capacity and α-lucosidase and α-amylase inhibition by native fruits and commercial frozen pulps. In this study, 16 native fruits and 6 commercial frozen pulps were analyzed, and camu-camu, cupuaçu, coquinho azedo and cagaita showed themselves as excellent vitamin C sources. Camu-camu, cambuci, uxi and tucumã and commercial frozen pulps of cambuci, cagaita, coquinho azedo and araçá were the samples that presented the highest antioxidant capacity. Quercetin and kaempferol derivatives were the main flavonoids present in most of the samples. Ellagic acid was detected only in umbu, camu-camu, cagaita, araçá and cambuci and the content ranged from 218 to 512 mg/100 g (DW). Cambuci and cagaita showed the highest α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibitory activity. According to our results, native Brazilian fruits can also be considered as good sources of bioactive compounds.

Avec la mondialisation et l'industrialisation de l'alimentation, la fraude et les cas de contamination des aliments peuvent avoir un impact international et entraîner des conséquences de grande envergure à la fois sur l'économie et la santé des consommateurs (Cubero-Leon et al., 2014). La fraude et l'authentification sont donc devenues des sujets émergents dans le secteur alimentaire. D'autant que les fraudes sont de plus en plus sophistiquées pour contourner au mieux les contrôles et donc de plus en plus difficiles à détecter par des analyses classiques. Les aliments issus de l'agriculture biologique (AB ou bio) font d'ailleurs partie des aliments qui risquent le plus de faire l'objet de fraude. Mais la traçabilité des aliments est principalement garantie par des moyens administratifs (règlement UE 178/2002). C'est pourquoi il est nécessaire de recourir à des techniques analytiques avancées pour détecter les produits non-conformes et pour garantir la traçabilité et l'authenticité des aliments, notamment ceux issus de l'AB. Notre étude est basée sur l'hypothèse que les traitements, associés à différents types d'agriculture, ont un impact mesurable sur la microflore des aliments. L'objectif principal était de pouvoir utiliser l'environnement microbien des aliments pour les discriminer en fonction de leur mode de production. La PCR-DGGE, un outil moléculaire d'écologie microbienne, pourrait servir à discriminer les modes de production d'aliments par analyse des profils génétiques des ADNr bactériens et fongiques. L'analyse des profils génétiques microbiens de nectarines, pêches, bananes et de pommes a montré qu'il était possible de différencier les fruits en fonction de leur mode de production. La robustesse de notre méthodologie a été démontrée en comparant les résultats obtenus sur deux années de récolte successives. Létude des variation intra-parcellaires ont également permis de démontrer que les fruits bio pouvaient être différenciés des conventionnels indépendamment de leur position dans la parcelle (centre vs bord) ou encore sur l'arbre. Les différences observées au niveau de la structure des communautés microbiennes étaient donc suffisamment importantes pour conclure que les traitements appliqués ont un impact significatif sur ces communautés. De plus, l'identification des espèces microbiennes obtenues après PCR-DGGE et NGS a révélé que certains groupes microbiens (fongiques et bactériens) pourraient être spécifiques aux aliments bio. Cependant, l'effet terroir est un critère important à prendre en compte dans la mise en place d'un outil d'authentification des aliments bio. Une application sur le terrain serait donc difficile à prévoir si elle est parcelle-spécifique. Cette étude s'inscrit à la base de la mise au point d'un outil analytique qui pourrait permettre de répondre aux besoins des professionnels de l'industrie alimentaire en termes d'authenticité et de sûreté alimentaire, en particulier pour aider les organismes certificateurs à contrôler et authentifier les aliments bio. Cette étude a également permis d'enrichir les connaissances actuelles sur l'écosystème microbien des fruits en fonction des pratiques agricoles. / Globalization of trades and industrialization of food have increased the occurrence of food fraud. Cases of food contamination now have a global impact and lead to far-reaching consequences both on the economy and the health of consumers (Cubero-Leon et al., 2014). Thus, fraud and authentication became important topics in the food sector. Especially as food frauds are becoming more sophisticated to bypass controls and are therefore more difficult to detect by classical approaches. Organic foods are part of foods that are the most likely to be subject of fraud. But traceability of foods is mainly performed by administrative means (UE Regulation 178/2002). That is why it is necessary to resort advanced analytical techniques to detect non-compliant products and to ensure traceability and authentication of foods, including those from organic agriculture. Our study is based on the hypothesis that treatments associated to various farming types have a measurable impact on food microflora. That is why, the main objective of this study was to use the microbial environment of foods to discriminate them according to their production mode. PCR-DGGE, a molecular tool of microbial ecology, could be used as to discriminate food production modes using bacterial and fungal rDNA profiles. The analysis of microbial genetic profiles of nectarines, peaches, bananas and apples showed that it was possible to differentiate fruits according to their farming types. It was possible to verify the robustness of our methodology by comparing results obtained on two successive harvest years. We estimated also the intra-plot variations and observed that organic apples could be discriminated from conventional ones independently upon their position in the field (centre or border) or even on the tree. The observed differences in microflora between organic and conventional apples were significant enough to conclude that the applied treatments have a significant impact on this microflore. Furthermore, the analysis of DNA sequences obtained from PCR-DGGE and NGS allowed some microbial groups (fungal and bacterial) to be identified as specific to organic foods. However, the “terroir effect” is an important criterion to take into account for the implementation of an authentication tool for organic products. So, an application in the field would be difficult to predict if it is plot-specific. This study constitutes the basis for the development of an analytical tool that could meet the needs of food industry professionals in terms of authenticity and food safety, especially to assist certifying bodies to control and authenticate organic food products. This study enabled also to enrich the existing knowledge on the microbial ecosystem of fruits from different agricultural practices.

Ph.D. (Agriculture)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / The rind physiological disorders incidence such as rind pitting is a challenge to the citrus industry as it affects appearance; and ultimately, acceptability and purchase in both local and international markets. Although the internal quality is not directly affected by rind pitting, fruit damaged by this disorder are rejected in the fresh fruit market. The susceptibility to this disorder varies among citrus fruit cultivars. Other factors impacting rind physiological disorders include; pre-harvest environmental conditions and postharvest storage conditions. However, the main cause of this disorder is still unknown. In South Africa, ‘Benny’ valencias are the most prone orange cultivars to rind pitting disorder within the sweet-orange-type. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate production site and postharvest treatments’ effect on physico-chemical, biochemical properties, antioxidants, rind soluble sugars and gene expression in relation to rind pitting development of ‘Benny’ valencia citrus fruit. During 2016 and 2017 seasons, the study was conducted, whereby, ‘Benny’ valencia citrus fruit were harvested from Tzaneen, Groblersdal and Musina in South Africa. After harvesting, the fruits were transported to the Agricultural Research Council- Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ARC-TSC) postharvest laboratory in Nelspruit for sorting, grading treatment, cold storage and post-storage quality evaluation. After sorting and grading, fruits were subjected to the following treatments: T1 = no wax plus dehydration, T2 = wax plus dehydration and T3 = wax plus no dehydration. Dehydrated treatments were applied for 3 days at relative humidity of ±45%, thereafter, fruit were stored at -0.6 and 4.5°C for 28 days plus 7 days shelf-life. After removal from cold storage plus 7 days shelf-life, fruit were analysed for rind pitting incidence (RPI), weight loss percentage (WL), firmness, total electrolyte leakage (TEL), total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and TSS: TA ratio. xxvi Afterwards, fruit were peeled to remove flavedo, thereafter; the flavedo peels were freeze-dried, milled and stored at -21°C for further physiological analysis. Freeze dried flavedo peel was analysed for total flavonoids, total phenolics, vitamin C, soluble sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose), antioxidant assays (FRAP, DPPH, ABST and ORAC) and genes. The results showed that rind pitting incidence was high on fruit subjected to wax plus no dehydration across all storage temperatures and production sites. Furthermore, results showed that fruit harvested from Musina exposed to T1 had higher incidence of rind pitting than those from Groblersdal and Tzaneen, irrespective of storage temperature. Meanwhile, fruit harvested from Musina had the highest TEL when compared with Groblersdal and Tzaneen irrespective of treatments and storage temperatures. A significantly higher (P<0.05) WL was observed in Musina fruit harvested from Tzaneen exposed to T3 at both storage temperatures. Moreover, increased TSS was observed after storage across all production site and postharvest treatments. The study showed that production site and postharvest treatments had a significant influence on rind pitting and total electrolyte leakage. Additionally, fruit treated with no wax + dehydration was found to be more susceptible to rind pitting. However, fruit sourced from Tzaneen had significantly (P<0.0001) high TPC and TFC, irrespective of postharvest treatments therefore, low rind pitting incidence. While rind vitamin C was higher in fruit from Groblersdal when compared with Tzaneen and Musina. However, low RPI was also observed in fruit sourced from Groblersdal. Fruit from Musina subjected to wax plus dehydration had higher RSA and low RPI at both temperatures when compared with fruit sourced from Groblersdal and Tzaneen. Therefore, wax plus dehydration resulted in low rind pitting with an increased accumulation of rind biochemical concentrations, xxvii irrespective of cold storage temperatures. These results suggested that there is a link between rind pitting and rind biochemical concentrations in the ‘Benny’ valencia citrus fruit. Moreover, fruit from Musina subjected to wax plus dehydration had higher antioxidant measured by DPPH and low RPI at both low storage temperatures when compared with fruit harvested from Groblersdal and Tzaneen. Furthermore, fruit harvested from Musina and treated with no wax plus dehydration, thereafter, stored at -0.6°C had low RPI with high antioxidant activity measured by FRAP than Tzaneen and Groblersdal regions in both seasons. With respect to sugars, fructose was not significantly (P<0.05) affected by production sites, postharvest treatments and cold storage temperature, hence, the low pitting incidence. The highest glucose was observed in fruit harvested from Groblersdal, irrespective of treatments and cold storage temperatures when compared with those from Tzaneen and Musina, low RPI was also observed in fruit harvested from Groblersdal. However, fruit harvested from Groblersdal treated with wax plus dehydration and stored at 4.5°C had higher sucrose and low RPI when compared with Tzaneen and Musina. Moreover, this study suggested that soluble sugars in ‘Benny’ valencia flavedo during cold storage is involved in rind pitting tolerance mediated by wax plus dehydration treatment. Three homologic genes: CsCP gene; CsNAC-domain protein gene; CsCP-F gene; were chosen to examine the relationship between their expression and citrus rind pitting through quantitative RT-PCR analysis in pitting and no-pitting fruits. Results showed that the expression of CsCP, CsNAC and CsCP-F genes were all higher in the pitting rind fruit harvested from Tzaneen and low in fruit with low pitting. Groblersdal and Musina fruit had low expression of genes and low rind pitting was observed. Therefore, findings suggested that CsCP, CsNAC and CsCP-F genes may xxviii be linked to non-chilling rind pitting and could serve as targets for future investigation. Generally, the overall results obtained in this study provided an understanding into the previous unknown complexities of citrus non-chilling rind pitting. Moreover, the study revealed that the studied factors had an influence on non-chilling rind pitting and physico-chemical properties of ‘Benny’ valencia citrus fruit. In addition, postharvest treatments resulted in low non-chilling rind pitting with an increased accumulation of rind biochemical concentrations. The fruit with high antioxidant capacity were found to be tolerant to rind pitting, whereas, fruit with low antioxidant capacity were found to be susceptible to rind pitting. Furthermore, soluble sugars are believed to be involved in the defence mechanisms against non-chilling rind pitting in the fruit. Gene expression changes also provided clues about the possible mechanisms involved in non-chilling rind pitting development. / National Research Fund, Agricultural Research Council Tropical and Subtropical Fruit Crops and Citrus Academy

Ce mémoire de création littéraire se divise en deux parties. La première propose une série de chansons intitulée Chansons Fleuve. Ce sont huit pièces créées autour de l'idée de l'intime, dont j'ai composé les paroles et la musique1. Elles ont été enregistrées sur un support audio qui accompagne la copie papier de ce mémoire. La seconde partie consiste en une analyse des rapports qu'entretiennent le texte et la musique d'"Arbre à fruits, arbre à fruits" de Marie-Jo Thério, avec l'intime. À travers les paroles de la pièce, les marques de l'intime sont présentes comme contenu (l'essence de l'intime, les thématiques) et comme forme (les relations, les situations, le temps, l'espace). Dans l'enregistrement de la voix et l'interprétation, sont véhiculées plusieurs émotions qui installent un climat d'intimité, appuient le texte et contribuent à rapprocher le public de l'artiste.

Les systèmes alimentaires alternatifs font partie des stratégies prometteuses pour améliorer l’accès aux fruits et légumes (FL) frais des populations défavorisées et mal desservies. Peu de données probantes existent pour saisir leur portée et leur efficacité. Suite à l’implantation d’un kiosque maraîcher à la sortie d’une station de métro de Montréal, cette étude vise à analyser l’évolution de sa fréquentation, du profil de ses utilisateurs et les caractéristiques des utilisateurs rapportant une augmentation de leurs achats de FL au cours des deux premières saisons. Deux sources de données ont été analysées : les données de ventes recueillies par une application de paiement mobile et une enquête répétée auprès des utilisateurs (2016, n=214 ; 2017, n=151). Une augmentation significative de la fréquentation a été observée, les utilisateurs de 2017 achetaient plus au kiosque. Une plus grande proportion d’entre eux le fréquentait hebdomadairement et rapportait une consommation d'au moins 5 FL/jour. Les utilisateurs de 2017 étaient majoritairement plus favorisés qu’en 2016. En 2017, 23% affirmaient acheter davantage de FL, comparativement à 12% en 2016. Les caractéristiques des 23% correspondraient davantage à la population ciblée. Par ailleurs, ils étaient plus susceptibles de fréquenter le kiosque hebdomadairement, de percevoir peu abordables les FL de leur quartier et de ne pas avoir accès à une automobile. Un an après son ouverture, le kiosque affiche un certain succès, mais sa capacité à rejoindre les populations défavorisées est mitigée. Au-delà de l'amélioration de l'accès physique, l’ajout d’incitatifs réduisant les barrières économiques serait plus efficace pour diminuer les inégalités de santé. / Alternative food systems have the potential to enhance physical and economic access to fruits and vegetables (FV) for vulnerable and underserved populations. The evaluation of their scope and their effectiveness requires additional efforts. Following the implementation of a FV stand next to a subway station in Montreal, this study aims to determine the evolution of its attendance, shoppers’ profile and the characteristics of shoppers reporting an increase in their FV purchases between the first and second season. Two sets of data were collected: details of all sales data and on-site surveys (2016, n = 214; 2017, n = 151). A significant increase in attendance was observed: 2017’s shoppers purchased more FV at the stand. A larger proportion of 2017 shoppers frequented it weekly and reported an intake of at least 5 FV / day. However, a larger proportion were wealthier. In 2017, 23 % of shoppers reported an increase of their FV purchases. compared to 12% in 2016. These 23% of shoppers would have characteristics of the originally targeted deprived population. They were also more likely to attend the stand weekly, to perceive FV’s neighborhood unaffordable and not to have access to a car. One-year post-implementation, the FV stand present a potential success. However, its reach to disadvantaged populations is mixed. Beyond improving physical access, include incentive strategies to reduce economic barriers would be relevant in reducing social and health inequalities.

The aim of this work is to find out the attitudes of Czech consumers to the quality of fruit and vegetables on the Czech market. The quality of fruit and vegetables in sales formats is also investigated. The theoretical part includes general characteristics of fruits and vegetables, conventional and organic farming and other certification systems, production and consumption of fruit and vegetables and foreign trade. The work describes the quality of food and organic food, the quality of freshness fruit and vegetables and legislative requirements.The practical part examines during questionnaire survey how consumers perceive the quality of fruit and vegetables on the Czech market. In this section was conducted research in retail chains and specialized stores in České Budějovice and Vlašim. For the research were selected red apples, bananas, tomatoes and cucumbers. Shops have been awarded points and the winner is the shop which got least points. The practical part was concluded with a structured interview with the founder of the Food Bank in České Budějovice.

Thesis (MSc. Agriculture (Horticulture)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / Newly developed mandarin selection ―M37‖ has the potential to become a future export soft citrus cultivar. However, the selection is highly susceptible to chilling injury, which normally reduces post-storage quality and marketability of citrus fruit. Silicon (Si), applied at post-harvest as potassium silicate (K2SiO3), has potential to mitigate against chilling injury. So far, the effect of Si on ―M37‖ mandarin chilling susceptibility is unknown. Therefore, the aim of the study was to investigate the effect of cold storage temperature and postharvest potassium silicate dips on the chilling susceptibility and physico-chemical properties of new mandarin selection ―M37‖ fruit. The experiment was carried out in a factorial, arranged in a completely randomised design (CRD) with three replicates. Treatment factors were: 2 x cold storage temperature (-0.6±1 and 4.5 ±1°C) and 4 x potassium silicate concentration (0, 50, 100 and 150 mL L-1 K2SiO3). Fruit were dipped in different potassium silicate solutions (0, 50, 100 and 150 mL L-1) for 30 minutes, air dried, waxed; and thereafter, stored for 28 days at -0.6 and 4.5°C with 85-90% relative humidity. After withdrawal from cold storage, fruit were held at ambient temperature (±23°C) for 7 days (shelf-life); during shelf-life fruit were evaluated for chilling injury, physical properties (weight loss and firmness loss) and biochemical properties (electrolyte leakage, total soluble acids (TSS), titratable acids (TA) and TSS: TA ratio). The results showed that fruit were highly susceptible to chilling injury after storage at 0.6°C when compared with 4.5°C. However, treating fruit with postharvest potassium silicate dips improved their chilling susceptibility, especially with 50 and 100 mL L-1 K2SiO3 concentrations. Electrolyte leakage was lower for fruit treated with K2SiO3 compared to the control across all the storage temperatures. Although, ―M37‖ fruit stored at 4.5°C showed higher weight loss, firmness loss, TSS and TSS: TA ratio when compared with -0.6°C storage. Fruit firmness increased with the increase in potassium silicate concentrations during storage at -0.6 and 4.5°C; with the highest firmness loss occurring on fruit treated with 150 mL L-1 than control. Similarly, TSS increased concomitant with K2SiO3 concentration. Although, TA decreased with increasing K2SiO3 concentrations for fruit stored at 4.5°C; resulting in higher TSS: TA ratio. In conclusion, postharvest silicon dips effectively improved the storability of ―M37‖ mandarin fruit, preserved quality and extended the cold storage period. xi Keywords: Biochemical properties; Chilling injury; Firmness loss; Potassium silicate dips; Weight loss / Agricultural Research Council (ARC-LNR) and National Research Fund (NRF)

Diss. (sammanfattning) Alnarp : Sveriges lantbruksuniv. / Härtill 9 uppsatser.

L’usufruit est essentiellement envisagé comme un droit réel portant sur un bien immobilier.Jadis, les immeubles constituaient l’élément le plus important du patrimoine des particuliers. Depuis un siècle, il y a une transformation de la nature des patrimoines caractérisé par le développement des fortunes mobilières à côté de celle immobilières.L'objet de l'usufruit des droits sociaux se trouve au confluent de deux disciplines totalement étrangères l’une à l’autre : le droit des biens et le droit des sociétés.Le droit des biens tend à privilégier l’approche réelle de la matière, ce qui peut conduire à négliger la spécificité de l’objet de l’usufruit. Alors que le droit des sociétés met l’accent sur les mécanismes internes de la société et du droit d’associé, ce qui peut perdre de vue que ce droit est envisagé comme un bien.L’ouvrage explore les différents mécanismes d’utilisation de ce procédé d’ingénierie patrimoniale aussi bien en matière d’optimisation qu’en matière de transmission fiscales. Il envisage aussi d’expliciter les différents aspects de conciliation que requiert l’application de cet outil juridique et financier au sein de la société.Cette thèse encouragera le législateur libanais à introduire et adopter la notion de l’usufruit des droits sociaux au Liban et permettra de mettre en place une étude mise à jour et plus riche en la matière. / Usufruct is a right in rem allowing to use and to enjoy the property of another. Whilst previously, real estates and immovable properties were one’s most valuable assets, with time we have witnessed a shift in the market environment and the development of wealth in movables.In light of the foregoing, usufruct which was initially applicable in real estate, has been applied in other types of property such as corporate shares and stocks. Being relatively a recent development, there is an absence in the French system of adequately applicable legal texts to the usufruct of shares and stocks and accordingly it is subject to both the property law and company law. This gives rise to a number of difficulties because whereas the property law focuses on the various forms of ownership and the legal relationship with the rem, and emphasizes on proprietorship rights; the company law studies the interaction of the shareholders and other stakeholders with the company specifying their rights and duties and thus may lose sight that the usufruct is a property right. With this research I intend to explore the different mechanisms and contexts in which usufruct is used as a legal & financial tool for tax optimization and cost cutting mostly elucidated during inheritance. On the other hand, I will elaborate the way of utilizing it by a shareholder within the company.Finally, I hope that my thesis will contribute to encourage the Lebanese legislator in introducing this notion into Lebanon by developing the relevant laws and will provide an updated and thorough study of shares and stocks usufruct.