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The accurate and reliable fruit detection in orchards is one of the most crucial tasks for supporting higher level agriculture tasks such as yield mapping and robotic harvesting. However, detecting and counting small fruit is a very challenging task under variable lighting conditions, low-resolutions and heavy occlusion by neighboring fruits or foliage. To robustly detect small fruits, an improved method is proposed based on multiple scale faster region-based convolutional neural networks (MS-FRCNN) approach using the color and depth images acquired with an RGB-D camera. The architecture of MS-FRCNN is improved to detect lower-level features by incorporating feature maps from shallower convolution feature maps for regions of interest (ROI) pooling. The detection framework consists of three phases. Firstly, multiple scale feature extractors are used to extract low and high features from RGB and depth images respectively. Then, RGB-detector and depth-detector are trained separately using MS-FRCNN. Finally, late fusion methods are explored for combining the RGB and depth detector. The detection framework was demonstrated and evaluated on two datasets that include passion fruit images under variable illumination conditions and occlusion. Compared with the faster R-CNN detector of RGB-D images, the recall, the precision and F1-score of MS-FRCNN method increased from 0.922 to 0.962, 0.850 to 0.931 and 0.885 to 0.946, respectively. Furthermore, the MS-FRCNN method effectively improves small passion fruit detection by achieving 0.909 of the F1 score. It is concluded that the detector based on MS-FRCNN can be applied practically in the actual orchard environment.

The addition of pectin to fluid systems alters its gelling, consistency, and texture characteristics. Thus, the use of this acid polysaccharide in product development can generate materials with different technological properties, capable of industrial use. For this, low-cost pectin sources are required. Among these is passion fruit, whose peel is an industrial byproduct that is rich in pectin. It is noteworthy that passion fruit peel is a byproduct generated in large quantities during fruit processing for the production of passion fruit pulp and juice, and that Brazil is the world’s largest fruit producer. In this context, this review presents the characteristics of several methods (conventional extraction, enzyme-assisted extraction, extraction with subcritical fluids, UAE, MAE, UAME, S-MAE, HHP, DESs, and NADESs) used for pectin extraction and explains the effect of the studied variables, with emphasis on the extraction from passion fruit peel. The application of pectins in different industrial systems is also addressed. Pectins are featured as functional food ingredients of high commercial value due to their technological properties. It also has applications in different areas, such as the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

This study evaluated yellow, purple and orange passion fruit in pulp, peel, and seed for physicochemical characteristics, proximate composition, minerals, antioxidant capacity (DPPH and ABTS), phenolic compounds, carotenoids, flavonoids and anthocyanins. Yellow passion fruit presented higher concentrations of pectin (37.37 g/100 g) in peels; high cryptoxanthin, α-carotene, β-carotene, provitamin A, quercetin, and kaempferol in pulps and higher values of ash and total dietary fiber in seeds. The purple fruit was highlighted by a great value of anthocyanins (103.68 mg/100 g) in peels and seeds and the orange fruit reported higher levels of ash, carotenoids (mainly β-carotene with 21,274 μg/100 g), kaempferol in peels, higher contents of total soluble solids, lycopene (4405 μg/100 g), lutein, zeaxanthin, total carotenoids in pulps and phenolics in general. This research revealed that the pulp of passion fruit and his residues have a significant content of bioactive compounds, differing in type according the species analyzed.

Background Passion fruit ( Passiflora edulis [Sims]) is an important economic fruit crop in Kenya, grown for domestic, regional and international markets. However, passion fruit production is constrained by both biotic and abiotic stresses. Passion fruit woodiness disease (PWD) complex is the most injurious viral disease responsible for yield losses of up to 100%. In East Africa , it is caused by potyviruses. The most effective way to manage PWD is by using resistant cultivars. The objectives of this study were to determine the occurrence of passion fruit woodiness disease in selected counties at the Coastal lowlands of Kenya and screen farmer preferred passion fruit genotypes for resistance to PWD. Results In the present study, it was established that all surveyed farms in Kwale and Kilifi counties displayed passion fruit woodiness virus disease symptoms. The highest disease incidence of 59.16% and 51.43% was observed at Kilifi and Kwale counties, respectively. A significant difference ( p  < 0.05) in symptom severity was observed within the tested genotypes with purple and banana passion fruits having the highest and lowest AUDPC values, respectively, both under greenhouse and field conditions. ACP ELISA assays using universal potyvirus antiserum (Agdia Inc., Elkhat, IN) confirmed that the observed characteristic symptoms of woodiness disease were as a result of potyvirus infection. Conclusions The findings herein indicate that PWD is widespread in both Kilifi and Kwale counties with low to moderate disease incidence and severity. The observed prevalence, incidence and severity levels of PWD in Kwale and Kilifi counties could be aggravated by poor management practices such as non-sterilization of pruning tools, intercropping with target crops and crop rotation with the same target crops. Response of passion fruit genotypes to woodiness viruses was genotype dependent. There is need to sensitize farmers on the cause and spread of PWD and management strategies in order to increase production and enhance the quality of fruits.

Tropical and subtropical crops are being increasingly cultivated in South Korea, leading to an increase in damage by exotic insect pests. Consequently, ethyl formate (EF) is currently being considered for quarantine and pre-shipment fumigation. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness of EF fumigation for controlling Aphis spiraecola Patch and Aphis gossypii Glover, two representative quarantine pests on passion fruit (“Pink Bourbon”) during greenhouse cultivation and post-harvest storage. The efficacy of EF against both aphids in terms of the lethal concentration causing 50% mortality (LCt50%) and LCt99% was 1.36–2.61 g h/m3 and 3.73–7.55 g h/m3 under greenhouse conditions (23 °C), and 1.37–2.02 g h/m3 and 3.80–14.59 g h/m3 post-harvest (5 °C), respectively. EF at 4 g/m3 for 4 h resulted in 100% mortality of A. spiraecola, which was more resistant to EF, without causing phytotoxic damage to the trees in a 340 m3 greenhouse. Post-harvest fruit fumigation at 10 g/m3 for 4 h in a mid-size (0.8 m3) fumigation chamber resulted in complete disinfection. Moreover, the EF level decreased below the EF threshold within 10 min after natural ventilation in the greenhouse. Therefore, our results suggest EF fumigation as an effective method for controlling A. spiraecola and A. gossypii.

Vegetable oils show a strong potential as renewable resources for developing new monomers and polymers. Unsaturated fatty acids offer opportunities for chemical modifications such as epoxidation and acrylation. In parallel, the rise of additive manufacturing, particularly 3D printing by stereolithography process, provides a green approach for the fabrication of polymeric materials with diverse architectures and shapes for various fields, including biomedical, electronics, and aerospace. This work reports the synthesis and application of a novel 3D printable, renewable biomass-derived monomer obtained from passion fruit vegetable oil. We comprehensively assessed its conversion under different monomeric mixtures containing type 1 or type 2 photoinitiators under ultraviolet and blue irradiations. The mixture containing type 1 photoinitiator demonstrated superior performance under UV light and was further characterized for its suitability as a 3D printing resin. Subsequent investigations revealed that a photoinitiator concentration as low as 0.5 wt.% suffices for effective 3D printing. Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of utilizing this passion fruit vegetable oil-derived, renewable monomer for additive manufacturing of bio-based polymers while minimizing the dependence on photoinitiators.

Resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxystilbene) and piceatannol (3,5,3′,4′-tetrahydroxystilbene) are well-known natural products that are produced by plants. They are important ingredients in pharmaceutical industries and nutritional supplements. They display a wide spectrum of biological activity. Thus, the needs for these compounds are increasing. The natural products have been found in diverse plants, mostly such as grapes, passion fruit, white tea, berries, and many more. The extraction of these products from plants is quite impractical because of the low production in plants, downstream processing difficulties, chemical hazards, and environmental issues. Thus, alternative production in microbial hosts has been devised with combinatorial biosynthetic systems, including metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, and optimization in production process. Since the biosynthesis is not native in microbial hosts such as Escherichia coli , Saccharomyces cerevisiae , and Corynebacterium glutamicum , genetic engineering and manipulation have made it possible. In this review, the discussion will mainly focus on recent progress in production of resveratrol and piceatannol, including the various strategies used for their production.

Açaí, lychee, mamey, passion fruit and jackfruit are some lesser-consumed tropical fruits due to their low commercial production. In 2018, approximately 6.8 million tons of these fruits were harvested, representing about 6.35% of the total world production of tropical fruits. The present work reviews the nutritional content, profile of bioactive compounds, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity of these fruits and their by-products, and their ability to modulate oxidative stress due to the content of phenolic compounds, carotenoids and dietary fiber. Açaí pulp is an excellent source of anthocyanins (587 mg cyanidin-3-glucoside equivalents/100 g dry weight, dw), mamey pulp is rich in carotenoids (36.12 mg β-carotene/100 g fresh weight, fw), passion fruit peel is rich in dietary fiber (61.16 g/100 dw). At the same time, jackfruit contains unique compounds such as moracin C, artocarpesin, norartocarpetin and oxyresveratrol. These molecules play an important role in the regulation of inflammation via activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (including p38, ERK and JNK) and nuclear factor κB pathways. The properties of the bioactive compounds found in these fruits make them a good source for use as food ingredients for nutritional purposes or alternative therapies. Research is needed to confirm their health benefits that can increase their marketability, which can benefit the primary producers, processing industries (particularly smaller ones) and the final consumer, while an integral use of their by-products will allow their incorporation into the circular bioeconomy.

Induction of somatic embryogenesis from in vitro-cultivated anthers represents a recent but poorly understood regeneration pathway for passion fruit species. Here, we aimed to develop an efficient system to produce and proliferate somatic embryos from cultivated anthers of Passiflora cincinnata. The floral buds were categorized into five different developmental stages (DS1 to DS5) according to their length and diameter. Their anthers were then cultured in induction medium at various concentrations of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) and 4.5 μM 6-benzyladenine. The control contained no plant growth regulators. Somatic embryogenesis started from the diploid sporophytic tissues of the anthers and continued indirectly through the formation of yellow and friable embryogenic calluses at 9.1 to 27.1 μM 2,4-D. Embryogenic calluses and primary and secondary embryos were significantly more numerous only when anthers at the DS2 stage were cultivated with 18.1 μM 2,4-D and 4.5 μM 6-benzyladenine. Secondary diploid somatic embryos formed on the surface of primary embryos via direct and repetitive embryogenesis, as well as directly from the hypocotyl of regenerated P. cincinnata emblings. The capacity to induce repetitive somatic embryogenesis represents a promising tool for Passiflora micropropagation.Key messagePassion fruit anthers grown on auxin-rich medium have a high capacity for the formation and proliferation of diploid somatic embryos.

In Brazil, the passion fruit woodiness disease is caused by the cowpea aphid-borne mosaic virus (CABMV). It is considered one of the most economically important diseases in the passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims). This study aims to implement the recurrent selection to develop passion fruit cultivars resistant to CABMV and with good agronomic performance. The experiment was led in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro–Brazil, in a randomized block design with 90 full-sib families, three replications, and three plants per plot. The area below the mean disease progress curve (AUDPCM) was estimated, and the total production per plant (TPP) was evaluated. The estimate analysis of variance components and prediction of genetic gains were performed using the REML/BLUP procedure (Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction). At the end of the evaluations, all plants presented symptoms of the disease, with different levels of severity. For families RS32 and RS33, the largest number of individuals selected for TPP was obtained. A AUDPCM values ranged from 468.75 to 1717.50 for individuals 438 and 604, respectively. In the selection for AUDPCM, families RS91 and RS84 stood out, with the highest number of resistant individuals selected. Genotypes 497, 582, 438, 495, 581, 92, 791, 506, 552, 183, 443, 669, 219, 724, 189, 378, 477, 244, 239, 126, and 174, are promising and can be used as parents to obtain progenies, to compose the next cycle of recurrent selection.