Abstract
The necessity of this study stems from the increasing importance of enhancing the post-harvest quality and storability of Barhi dates (Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi") in Egypt, a vital crop for the agricultural economy. The study aimed to investigate the effects of palm age (5 and 10 years) and bunch thinning (5 or 10 bunches per palm) on both the physical and chemical characteristics of the fruit at harvest and during cold storage. The experiment was conducted over two consecutive seasons (2021 and 2022) at a farm in Abu Suwayr, Egypt. Measurements at harvest included fruit set, fruit drop, bunch weight, fruit weight, firmness, soluble solid content (SSC), total sugars, carotenoids, flavonoids, tannins, and total phenols. Post-harvest quality was evaluated over storage periods of 0, 10, 20, and 30 days. The results showed that older palms (10 years) with fewer bunches (5 per palm) produced higher-quality fruits. During storage, fruits from the palm at 10 years also exhibited lower decay rates and better preservation of quality parameters. Bunch thinning was found to improve fruit quality at both harvest and during storage, particularly in terms of reduced weight loss and better retention of phenolic compounds. In conclusion, managing palm age and bunch thinning practices can significantly enhance the quality and storability of Barhi dates. Future recommendations include optimizing these practices at a commercial scale to improve marketability and extend the storage life of this valuable crop.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Older palms (10 years) with fewer bunches (5 per palm) produced higher-quality fruits.
- Taxon
- Phoenix dactylifera L.
Phoenix dactyliferae6 - Treatment
- older palms (10 years)e2
- Outcome
- fruitse2
- Direction
- higher-qualitye2
- Qualifier
- with fewer bunches (5 per palm)e2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e2“The results showed that older palms (10 years) with fewer bunches (5 per palm) produced higher-quality fruits”
e6“Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi"”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruits from 10-year-old palms had lower decay rates during storage.
- Taxon
- Phoenix dactylifera L.Phoenix dactyliferae6
- Treatment
- the palm at 10 yearse3
- Outcome
- decay ratese3
- Direction
- lowere3
- Qualifier
- During storagee3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“During storage, fruits from the palm at 10 years also exhibited lower decay rates and better preservation of quality parameters”
e6“Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi"”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruits from 10-year-old palms had better preservation of quality parameters during storage.
- Taxon
- Phoenix dactylifera L.Phoenix dactyliferae6
- Treatment
- the palm at 10 yearse3
- Outcome
- preservation of quality parameterse3
- Direction
- bettere3
- Qualifier
- During storagee3
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e3“During storage, fruits from the palm at 10 years also exhibited lower decay rates and better preservation of quality parameters”
e6“Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi"”
Claim · model-written summary
Bunch thinning improved fruit quality at harvest and during storage.
- Taxon
- Phoenix dactylifera L.Phoenix dactyliferae6
- Treatment
- Bunch thinninge4
- Outcome
- fruit qualitye4
- Direction
- improvee4
- Qualifier
- at both harvest and during storagee4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Bunch thinning was found to improve fruit quality at both harvest and during storage, particularly in terms of reduced weight loss and better retention of phenolic compounds”
e6“Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi"”
Claim · model-written summary
Bunch thinning reduced weight loss during storage.
- Taxon
- Phoenix dactylifera L.Phoenix dactyliferae6
- Treatment
- Bunch thinninge4
- Outcome
- weight losse4
- Direction
- reducede4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Bunch thinning was found to improve fruit quality at both harvest and during storage, particularly in terms of reduced weight loss and better retention of phenolic compounds”
e6“Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi"”
Claim · model-written summary
Bunch thinning gave better retention of phenolic compounds.
- Taxon
- Phoenix dactylifera L.Phoenix dactyliferae6
- Treatment
- Bunch thinninge4
- Outcome
- retention of phenolic compoundse4
- Direction
- bettere4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“Bunch thinning was found to improve fruit quality at both harvest and during storage, particularly in terms of reduced weight loss and better retention of phenolic compounds”
e6“Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi"”
Claim · model-written summary
Optimising palm age and bunch thinning at commercial scale is recommended to improve marketability and extend storage life of Barhi dates.
- Taxon
- Phoenix dactylifera L.Phoenix dactyliferae6
- Outcome
- optimizing these practices at a commercial scalee5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“Future recommendations include optimizing these practices at a commercial scale to improve marketability and extend the storage life of this valuable crop”
e6“Phoenix dactylifera L. CV "Barhi"”
The same questions in other papers
pruning · quality: grain · Phoenix dactylifera (date palm)Results agree
2 papers in the same direction as this paper
- positive
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.