i Abstract The purpose of this project is to compare two statistical approaches, traditional multivariate analysis and Bayesian networks, for representing the relationship between volatile compounds in kiwifruit. Compound measurements were for individual vines which were progeny of an intercross. It was expected that groupings in the data (or compounds) would give some indication of the generic nature of the biochemical pathways. Data for this project was provided by the Flavour Biotech team at Plant and Food Research. This data contained many non-detected observations which were treated as zero and to deal with them, we looked for appropriate value of c for data transformation in log(x+c). The data is ‘large p small n’ paradigm – and has much in common with data, although it is not as extreme as microarray. Principal component analysis was done to select a subset of compounds that retained most of the multivariate structure for further analysis. The reduced set of data was analyzed by Cluster analysis and Bayesian network techniques. A heat map produced by Cluster analysis and a graphical representation of Bayesian networks were presented to scientists for their comments. According to them, the two graphs complemented each other; both graphs were useful in their own unique way. Along with clusters of compounds, clusters of genotypes were represented by the heat map which showed by how much a particular compound is present in each genotype while the relation among different compounds was seen from the Bayesian networks.

Tenderness, juiciness, colour and flavour are the most important meat quality attributes affecting the consumer acceptance. Maintaining the consistency of meat products by avoiding variable quality has become a major concern and great challenge to the meat industry. This in turn will also benefit meat end-users in the marketplace by having more tender meat. The present study was designed to evaluate the overall effects of pre-rigor infusion with kiwifruit juice, which contains the plant protease, actinidin, on lamb quality. A total of 18 lambs (12 months old) were divided into three treatment groups (6 lambs per each treatment). After exsanguination, lamb carcasses were infused (10% body weight) with fresh kiwifruit juice (Ac), water (W) and compared with a noninfusion treatment which acted as a control (C). Samples from different muscle/cuts (longissimus dorsi (LD) vs leg chops) at different post-mortem times (1 day post-mortem vs. 3 wks vacuum packaged storage at 2°C) and display time (0 to 6 days after the post-mortem storage) were analysed to monitor the changes on meat physical properties (e.g., tenderness, temperature, drip and cooking loss, colour), biochemical changes (pH, proteins and lipids) and volatile flavour compounds after the infusion treatments. The most tender meat (lowest shear force values) (P < 0.001) detected in the Ac carcasses post-mortem compared with C and W carcasses demonstrated that kiwifruit juice was a very powerful meat tenderizer, and could contribute to the meat tenderization process efficiently and effectively. Compared with C and W carcasses, the enhanced proteolytic activity (P = 0.002) resulting from the actinidin in kiwifruit juice in Ac carcasses caused degradation of the myofibrillar proteins and the appearance of new peptides during postmortem ageing. A slight positive effect in a*-value (redness) and decreased lipid oxidation, found in leg chops, was thought to be caused by the natural antioxidants in kiwifruit juice. Kiwifruit juice infused into the meat did not alter (P > 0.05) the volatile flavour compound profile indicating that the meat from Ac treated carcasses maintained its natural lamb flavour. No treatment differences were found for the temperature decline (P > 0.05) between the infused treatments and C. The higher rate of pH decline (P < 0.05) found in W carcasses might have contributed to the higher drip and cooking loss. The unbound water in meat might contribute to the higher L*-values (lightness) found in W carcasses. In summary, the proteolytic tenderizing infusion treatment using kiwifruit juice is a feasible approach for the commercial meat industry to increase profits, and also could satisfy the eating quality standards required by the consumers. In addition, tenderizing meat by using kiwifruit juice could also provide the kiwifruit processors an additional option for use of their product to gain a more profitable return.

Kiwifruit are of huge economic importance for New Zealand representing 29 percent of total horticultural exports. Fruit size is the biggest determinant of what consumers are willing to pay, and there is also a positive relationship between consumer preference for flavour and percentage dry matter. The two main cultivars exported from New Zealand are Actinidia chinensis ‘Hort 16A’ (gold kiwifruit) and A. deliciosa ‘Hayward’ (green kiwifruit). Under current commercial practice the only product allowed for use on kiwifruit to increase fruit size in New Zealand is Benefit®. Benefit® has been shown to induce different results when applied to A. chinensis and A. deliciosa, whereas synthetic plant growth regulators such as the cytokinin-like substance N-(2- chloro-4-pyridyl)-N’-phenylurea (CPPU) have been found to promote similar increases in fresh weight of fruit in both cultivars. Final fruit size is determined by both cell division and cell enlargement. It was been shown that fresh weight can be increased in both of the major Actinidia cultivars even though their physiology differs. Hormonal control of fruit size in relation to cell division and cell enlargement phases of fruit growth was studied in both A. chinensis and A. deliciosa. CPPU was applied to both cultivars in a growth response experiment where fruit were collected throughout the growing season. The objective of this experiment was to create growth curves, to compare and contrast the effect on A. chinensis and A. deliciosa, and to provide material for hormone analysis. Application of CPPU was found to significantly increase the fresh weight of both A. chinensis and A. deliciosa fruit (46.98 and 31.34 g increases respectively), and alter the ratio of inner and outer pericarps of A. chinensis fruit. CPPU and Benefit® were applied individually and together to both cultivars. It was found that only A. chinesis fruit were affected by the application of Benefit®; fresh weight was increased by 26.38 g, and percentage dry matter was significantly reduced. There was a statistically significant (p < 0.05) interaction between CPPU and Benefit® when applied to A. chinensis. 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridyloxyacetic acid (3,5,6-TPA) was applied to A. deliciosa on two application dates at three concentrations and was found to decrease fresh weight of fruit, but significantly increase percentage dry matter regardless of application date or concentration. Lastly CPPU and 1-naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) were applied to A. deliciosa at two application dates and in all combinations. Application date affected the response to both a low concentration of CPPU and NAA. A synergistic interaction was observed when CPPU was applied early plus NAA late (CPPU early (4.53 g increase) plus NAA late (13.29 g) < CPPU early plus NAA late (33.85 g). Finally endogenous hormone content was studied. Methods were developed and tested for the simultaneous analysis of both indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) and cytokinins. Freeze dried fruit were purified using Waters Sep-pak® cartridges and Oasis® columns then IAA was quantified by high pressure liquid chromatography. Preliminary results indicate a correlation between application of CPPU and endogenous IAA, high concentrations of IAA correlated well with periods of rapid fruit growth particularly for CPPU treated fruit.

獼猴桃源出於中國，卻成就於紐西蘭，並有了「奇異果」此一新名稱。而且，來自中國大陸的奇異果，價格比其本土的獼猴桃高出數倍，兩者於口感、外型等其他方面，亦存在明顯差距；如何使中國獼猴桃轉變為奇異果，是本論文的研究重心。在此目標下，本論文分為「紐西蘭奇異果」與「中國大陸獼猴桃」兩部分，以文獻閱讀、資料搜尋、田野調查、專家訪談等方式，先從紐西蘭出發，研究促成奇異果產業形成的關鍵因素，再將此關鍵因素提供中國大陸獼猴桃發展參考，最後得出結論與建議。本論文發現，在形塑產業的過程中，「政府」在法律保障、制度規劃、外部產業環境的營造上，扮演著重要角色，因此本論文之立場選擇，係以「中國大陸獼猴桃盛產區政府」之角度，借鏡紐西蘭的發展經驗，在政策規劃的思維下，為獼猴桃尋找建設性的出路，並以此作為結論與建議。 紐西蘭提供的經驗，包括制訂專法規範奇異果產業、立法保護單一出口機制、建立誘因機制、打造產業群聚、以資料庫進行科學化管理、重視品種研究，以及政府為扶植紐西蘭奇異果產業所做的其他措施。而中國大陸獼猴桃產業尚處於發展初階，加上各地方獼猴桃的適生度不同，經營集中度低，資源難以匯聚，使獼猴桃一直無法有效商品化。但由於獼猴桃栽種面積與產量皆為世界第一，近年來更開發出多元食用與藥用等用途，再加上中國大陸法制建設逐步完善，投資風險降低，若以紐西蘭奇異果產業的經驗為借鏡，調整措施並加強整合，獼猴桃發展前景仍值得期待。 有鑑於此，本研究以「公私協力八卦模型」作為結論，並建議中國大陸首先應擇定試點集中經營之區域，以便日後將商品化經驗複製於其他省份。在試點經營措施上，本論文建議以平台為依托進行整合；針對獼猴桃制訂相關法規，促使能夠引領產業整體發展的龍頭集團形成；建立誘因機制，讓龍頭集團的經營利潤回饋果農；並在品種培育、收購標準、資料庫管理等方式下，逐步形成標準化生產，再加上獼猴桃基金的保險機制，讓中國大陸獼猴桃逐步從產業化邁向商品化。 / Mihoutao originated from China but thrived in New Zealand under the name of “kiwifruit”; however, the price of kiwifruit is vastly higher than that of Mihoutao, and their taste and shape are of evident differences. As such, this thesis seeks to answer the question of “how to turn mihoutao into kiwifruit” by looking into the management and operation of New Zealand kiwifruit industry and providing lessons from such experience to the commercialization of China mihoutao. This thesis adopts methodologies of material reading, data collecting, field works, and expert interviewing to reach the final conclusions and suggestions, and it is discovered that the government plays a key role in the process of agriculture industrialization. Therefore, the proposed suggestions are for “the government of China mihoutao province” to echo with my topic. This thesis concludes with “Eight-trigram Model” to express the partnership with public and private sectors. Furthermore, it suggests China to construct the mihoutao commercialization mechanism on the regional basis as an experiment, which can be later duplicated in other provinces. More specifically about the measures, referring to New Zealand kiwifruit industry’s policies, mihoutao regulations, leading corporation, incentives, plant cultivation, scientific management via database, mihoutao fund are recommended. With all these policies in order, it is believed that a more institutionalized and commercialized mihoutao industry will be gradually shaped, and the Chinese “mihoutao” will also be commercialized as “kiwifruit” eventually.

Total soluble solids (TSS) is a reliable indicator of melon eating quality, with a minimum standard of 10% recommended. The state of Australian melon production with respect to this quality criterion was considered within seasons, between growing districts and over seasons. It was concluded that improvement in agronomic practice and varietal selection is required to produce sweeter melons. The scientific literature addressing melon physiology and agronomy was summarised, as a background to the work that is required to improve melon production practices in Australia. The effect of source sink manipulation was assessed for commercially grown and glasshouse grown melon plants. The timing of fruit thinning, pollination scheduling, the application of a growth inhibitor and source biomass removal were assessed in relation to fruit growth and sugar accumulation. Results are interpreted against a model in which fruit rapidly increase in weight until about two weeks before harvest, with sugar accumulation continuing as fruit growth ceases. Thus treatment response is very dependant on timing of application. For example, fruit thinning at 25 days before harvest resulted in further fruit set and increased fruit weight but did not impact on fruit TSS (at 9.8%, control 9.3%), while thinning at 5 days before harvest resulted in a significant (Pless than 0.05) increase in fruit TSS (to 10.8%, control 9.3%) and no increase in fruit weight or number. A cost/ benefit analysis is presented, allowing an estimation of the increase in sale price required to sustain the implementation of fruit thinning. The effect of irrigation scheduling was also considered with respect to increasing melon yield and quality. To date, recommended practice has been to cause an irrigation deficit close to fruit harvest, with the intent of 'drying out' or 'stressing' the plant, to 'bring on' maturity and increase sugar accumulation. Irrigation trials showed that keeping plants stress-free close to harvest and during harvest, facilitated the production of sweeter fruit. The maintenance of a TSS grade standard using either batch based (destructive) sampling or (non-invasive) grading of individual fruit is discussed. On-line grading of individual fruit is possible using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR), but the applicability of the technique to melons has received little published attention. Tissue sampling strategy was optimised, in relation to the optical geometry used (in commercial operation in Australia), both in terms of the diameter and depth of sampled tissue. NIR calibration model performance was superior when based on the TSS of outer, rather than inner mesocarp tissue. However the linear relationship between outer and middle tissue TSS was strong (r2 = 0.8) in immature fruit, though less related in maturing fruit (r2 = 0.5). The effect of fruit storage (maturation/senescence) on calibration model performance was assessed. There was a negligible effect of fruit cold storage on calibration performance. Currently, the agronomist lacks a cost-effective tool to rapidly assess fruit TSS in the field. Design parameters for such a tool were established, and several optical front ends compared for rapid, though invasive, analysis. Further, for visualisation of the spatial distribution of tissue TSS within a melon fruit, a two-dimensional, or hyper-spectral NIR imaging system based on a low cost 8-bit charge coupled device (CCD) camera and filter arrangement, was designed and characterised.