This study was conducted to find the effects of fruit ripening and extraction method on the quantity and quality of the Koroneiki olive oil. The oil samples extracted in six ripening stages were used for further quality analysis. Quality assessment of the oil was conducted according to the standard methods and the composition of fatty acids was measured by gas chromatography. The results showed that there were some significant differences in the percentage of oil among different fruit tissues and harvesting times. In all tissues, the percentage of oil in dry matter increased significantly from 12 Oct to 4 Jan. The mesocarp and seed had significantly higher percentages of oil compared to endocarp. The extraction method and harvesting time had some significant influences on peroxide value. Furthermore, the extraction method showed a significant effect on the refractive index, but not on the other quality traits studied. The oil extracted using soxhlet had higher peroxide value, but lower refractive index compared to the oil extracted by centrifugation. The harvesting time showed some significant effects on the percentage of free fatty acids, K232 value, K270 value and the amounts of total chlorophylls and total carotenoids. There were a higher percentage of free fatty acids in the oil samples produced in later harvesting times. The oil extracted on 1 Mar showed the highest percentage of free fatty acids. On the other hand, the oil samples obtained from earlier harvesting times had higher values of K232 and K270 and higher amounts of total chlorophylls and carotenoids. The results showed an increase in the percentage of oleic acid and linoleic acid during the harvesting times; while, there was a slight decrease in the percentages of other fatty acids studied. پرونده مقاله

Pistachio is a dioecious and cross-pollination species and suitable male genotypes is essential for its adequate fruit production. The quality of the produced nuts is also directly affected by pollen sources. In the present study, the female pistachio trees of Akbari commercial cultivar, in their ON-year cycle, were selected and hand-pollinated with three different pollen sources (T5, T17, T18) and compared to open-pollinated trees (T0). This research was undertaken as a completely randomized block design with three replications. Artificial pollination had a positive effect on the fruit set percentage. Furthermore, fruit fresh and dry weights, fruit dimensions, nut as well as kernel characteristics were affected corresponding to each pollen source. Though all 3 pollen sources had a positive effect on measured fruit characteristics, the effect of T17 was more prominent. Owing to xenia and metaxenia effects, longer nuts were observed following pollination with T5 pollen grains. Also, utilization of T17 pollen grains led to production of weightier fruits with higher splitting rate (93.33 % as compared to control, open pollinated trees (63.78%)). The results of the present study approved the imperative role of pollen source for pistachio fruit production. The results also recommended T17 genotype as a suitable pollinizer for Akbari pistachio cultivar. پرونده مقاله