Automation in cherry harvesting is essential to reduce the demand for seasonal labor for cherry picking and reduce the cost of production. The mechanical shaking of tree branches is one of the widely studied and used techniques for harvesting small tree fruit crops like cherries. To automate the branch shaking operation, different methods of detecting branches and cherries in full foliage canop...

Nitrate reductase was found in leaves of apricot Prunus armeniaca, sour cherry P. cerasus, sweet cherry P. avium, and plum P. domestica, but not in peach P. persica, from trees grown in sand culture receiving a nitrate containing nutrient solution. Nitrate was found in the leaves of all species. Nitrate and nitrate reductase were found in leaves of field-grown apricot, sour cherry, and plum tre...

Photosynthesis is the basic process influencing crop productivity. It can be inhibited by drought. Seven sour cherry genotypes were challenged by drought to assess their photosynthetic efficiency in such conditions. All together with relative water content (RWC) as indicator of plant water status, maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and chlorophyll content (Chl a+b) differentiated i...

Olive fruits at the green, cherry and black stages were used to investigate the structural and microstructural changes in tissues during ripening. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) tissue fracture of green olives resulted in cell wall breakage of epicarp and mesocarp cells. Tissue fracture resulted in fewer broken cells in cherry than in green olives and even less in black olive tissues. Cell ...

Several studies have been conducted on resistance sources to improve the genetic resistance of farm-grown tomatoes to arthropod pests, including phytophagous mites. In the present study, we evaluate the behavior of the two-spotted spider mite on different cherry tomato accessions to identify possible sources of resistance (repellent effect) to this pest. Sixty-four accessions of cherry tomatoes...

A study was conducted to determine the abundance of potential foods and the feeding substrates and behaviors of the western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae), in 2005, 2006, and 2007 in central Washington state. Aphid colonies with honeydew, a presumed food source for flies, were not seen on randomly selected branches of sweet cherry trees, Prunus avium L., ...

Dear Editor, Central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO) typically presents with a retinal “cherry red spot”. In CRAO, infarction of the retinal nerve fi bre layer renders the retina opaque. The fovea, where this layer is absent, retains its normal orangered colour due to perfusion from the underlying choroidal vessels, resulting in the appearance of the “cherry red spot”. Retinal survival time has...

BACKGROUND: Tart cherry, rich in bioactive polyphenols, has received attention in the past decade for reported health benefits due to its high polyphenolic content. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether there is a potential role for tart cherry or its isolated components in amelioration of pain relief in chronic diseases that may affect the elderly. METHODS: In vitro and in vivo human and animal stud...

Elevated plasma lipids, glucose, insulin, and fatty liver are among components of metabolic syndrome, a phenotypic pattern that typically precedes the development of Type 2 diabetes. Animal studies show that intake of anthocyanins reduces hyperlipidemia, obesity, and atherosclerosis and that anthocyanin-rich extracts may exert these effects in association with altered activity of tissue peroxis...

The timing of flowering in perennial plants is crucial for their survival in temperate climates and is regulated by the duration of bud dormancy. Bud dormancy release and bud break depend on the perception of cumulative chilling during endodormancy and heat during the bud development. The objectives of this work were to identify candidate genes involved in dormancy and flowering processes in sw...