About Book

Farming of Vegetable and Fruits is the growing of vegetable and fruit crops, primarily for use as human food. In everyday usage, a vegetable is any part of a plant that is consumed by humans as food as part of a savory meal. The subject of vegetable and fruit farming deals with intensive culture of perennial plants, which have economic significance. It is one part of the broad subject of horticulture, which also encompasses vegetable growing and production of ornamentals and flowers. The importance of horticulture can be substantiated by its benefits like high export value, high per unit area yield, high returns per unit area, best utilization of wasteland, provision of raw materials for industries, whole engagement by a grower/labourer, production of more food energy per unit area than that of field crops, better use of undulating lands, and stabilization of women’s empowerment by providing employment opportunities through processing, floriculture, seed production, mushroom cultivation, nursery preparation, etc. This book illustrates the principles and practices of vegetable and fruit farming with the help of up-to-date information. The various topics presented in this book include controlled water stress to improve fruit and vegetable postharvest quality, removal of residual pesticides, application of acoustic emission, the use of lactic acid bacteria and organic amendment. It also focuses on robotic harvesting of fruiting vegetables, the use of iodine, selenium and novel processing technologies. The topics included in this book are of utmost significance and are bound to provide incredible insights to readers. Students, researchers, experts and all associated with this field will benefit alike from this book.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 An Evaluation of the Impact of Novel Processing Technologies on the Phytochemical Composition of Fruits and Vegetables..............1

Abstract ..................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................1

2. Sources of phytochemicals and functions........................................3

3. Advanced nonthermal technologies..................................................7

4. Conclusion............................................................................................16

Chapter 2 Sea Vegetables...........................................................................................24

Abstract.................................................................................................24

1. Introduction..........................................................................................24

2. Seaweed utilization in food formulation........................................26

3. Nutritional contribution of seaweeds.............................................34

4. Conclusions..........................................................................................38

Chapter 3 The Use of Iodine, Selenium and Silicon in Plant Nutrition for the Increase of Antioxidants in Fruits and Vegetables...................46

Abstract.................................................................................................46

1. Introduction..........................................................................................47

2. Iodine, selenium, and silicon in agricultural systems.................47

3. The impact of iodine, selenium, and silicon on the antioxidant

system of plants..................................................................................51

4. Proposed mechanisms of action of iodine, selenium, and silicon

as inducers of the accumulation of antioxidants..........................51

5. Perspectives and recommendations.................................................54

6. Conclusion............................................................................................54

Chapter 4 Robotic Harvesting of Fruiting Vegetables: A Simulation Approach

in V-REP, ROS and MATLAB...............................................................62

Abstract.................................................................................................62

1. Introduction..........................................................................................63

2. Overview of the simulation environment......................................66

3. Image processing, publishing and subscription...........................70

4. Simulation scene and objects............................................................73

5. Calculation modules...........................................................................77

6. Results and discussions.....................................................................81

7. Conclusion............................................................................................87

Chapter 5 The Organic Amendment Improve the Yield and Quality of

Vegetable.....................................................................................................92

Abstract.................................................................................................92

1. Introduction..........................................................................................92

2. The ways of organic amendment....................................................93

3. Straw reactor technologies................................................................97

4. Plant vaccines and their use...........................................................105

5. Production of nursery soil..............................................................106

Chapter 6 The Use of Lactic Acid Bacteria in the Fermentation of Fruits and

Vegetables — Technological and Functional Properties...............108

1. Introduction........................................................................................108

2. Fermentation from a biochemical point of view........................109

3. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in food fermentation and new natural

antimicrobial compounds................................................................110

4. Unique features of fermented fruits and vegetables.................111

5. The use of microorganisms in our diet opens new

opportunities......................................................................................112

6. Lactic acid fermentation of tomatoes: effects on cis/trans lycopene

isomers, β-carotene concentration and the formation of L(+) and

D(-)-lactic acid....................................................................................115

7. The use of tomato additives fermented with Pediococcus

pentosaceus KTU05-9 and Lactobacillus sakei KTU05-6 to

improve the quality of ready-to-cook minced meat products.124

8. Conclusions........................................................................................131

Chapter 7 Application of Acoustic Emission for Quality Evaluation of Fruits

and Vegetables.........................................................................................143

1. Introduction........................................................................................143

2. Tissue model and source of AE in fruit and vegetables..........144

3. Acoustic emission (AE) for evaluation of the onset of plant tissue

cracking...............................................................................................146

4. Acoustic emission and different mechanical tests......................151

5. Evaluation of sensory properties with acoustic emission.........164

Chapter 8 Removal of Residual Pesticides in Vegetables Using Ozone

Microbubbles...........................................................................................173

1. Introduction........................................................................................173

2. Materials and methods ...................................................................175

3. Results and discussion ...................................................................179

4. Conclusion .........................................................................................188

Acknowledgement ...........................................................................188

Chapter 9 Controlled Water Stress to Improve Fruit and Vegetable Postharvest

Quality .....................................................................................................192

1. Introduction........................................................................................192

2. Regulated deficit irrigation.............................................................193

3. Plant growth regulators ..................................................................193

4. Secondary metabolites......................................................................194

5. Water stress effects on fruit quality .............................................194

6. Water stress effects on vegetable quality ....................................201

7. Attributes commonly evaluated in fruit and vegetable under

water stress .......................................................................................204

8. Conclusion .........................................................................................205

Citation......................................................................................................213

Index...........................................................................................................215

About Author

Mick Grosvenor received his Ph.D. in Agronomy from State University, Linhares. He is a visiting professor in various research universities across Europe. He has authored and edited more than 60 articles, journal papers and book chapters in the field of agriculture. He is actively engaged in the researches focused on aquaponics, organic farming and crop rotation. He has held seminars and attended international conferences on horticultural science, plant breeding and plants in vitro culture.