Abstract
In a 3 years lasting field study with the ‘Golden Delicious’ cultivar, we compared fruits of 5 pairs of organic/integrated fruit farms. The orchards were similar in microclimate, soil conditions and planting system. To assess inner fruit quality we investigated at the beginning and at the end of cold storage: (i) standard parameters (firmness, sugar, malic acid., mineral content); (ii) sensorial quality by panel tests; (iii) health related components (23 phenolic compounds, nutritional fibres; vitamins); and (v) fruit «vitality quality» by holistic approaches (crystallisation in copper chloride, self degradation tests, feeding preference tests with laboratory rats). The most significant differences were found in year one of the study, and were by tendency confirmed in the following two years. In year one all fruit samples of organic orchards had significantly firmer fruit flesh (14%), a 10 % higher index of inner quality (on basis of sugar and malic acid content and fruit flesh firmness), and 15% higher taste scores than conventional ones. Phosphorus content of the fruit flesh was 31% higher in organic apples and closely correlated (r2 = 0.93) with the index of inner quality and sensory score (r2 = 0.69). No extraction method of Phosphorus in the soil (water, NH4-EDTA, citric acid, CAL) correlated with the P-content in the fruits. However, P in the fruit flesh correlated by r2 = 0.72 with the microbial activity of the soil expressed as the ratio of microbialbound Nitrogen and Carbon in the soil. With a value of 3.85 the Cmic:Nmic ratio was 44.5 % lower (thus more favourable) in organic tree strips. Flavanols, with 65.7 % of the total polyphenol content were the dominant group of polyphenols. The content of flavonols was 22.7 % higher in organic apples in the first year and 15.6 % in the average of the three years. The self-degradation test didn't provide significant differences. Laboratory rats, showed a tendency to prefer IP apples probably due to their advanced ripeness. Thus rat behaviour did not correspond with the sensory panel judgement. The picture forming method provided a correct reproducibility with repeated blind samples before and after storage (r2 = 0.83), and distinguished 100 % correctly organic an IP fruit in the first year. In the second year there was one miss qualification. The average value over three dates of the index for «vitality quality», which was especially created for this study, was 44.6 % higher with organic apples The picture forming methods correlated well with sensory scores and standard quality (r2 = 0.63) in the first year. The study revealed interesting and consumer-relevant differences between organic and integrated apples with standard and holistic methods.
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Claims 19
Claim · model-written summary
Organic apples had 14% firmer flesh in year one.
- Taxon
- apples
Malus domesticat0 - Treatment
- organic orchardse0
- Outcome
- fruit fleshe0
- Direction
- firmere0
- Value
- 14%e0
- Comparator
- conventional onese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“all fruit samples of organic orchards had significantly firmer fruit flesh (14%), a 10 % higher index of inner quality (on basis of sugar and malic acid content and fruit flesh firmness), and 15% higher taste scores than conventional ones”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic apples had a 10% higher inner quality index in year one.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- organice0
- Outcome
- index of inner qualitye0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 10 %e0
- Comparator
- conventional onese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“all fruit samples of organic orchards had significantly firmer fruit flesh (14%), a 10 % higher index of inner quality (on basis of sugar and malic acid content and fruit flesh firmness), and 15% higher taste scores than conventional ones”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic apples had 15% higher taste scores in year one.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- organice0
- Outcome
- taste scorese0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 15%e0
- Comparator
- conventional onese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“all fruit samples of organic orchards had significantly firmer fruit flesh (14%), a 10 % higher index of inner quality (on basis of sugar and malic acid content and fruit flesh firmness), and 15% higher taste scores than conventional ones”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic apple flesh had 31% higher phosphorus content.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- organic applese0
- Outcome
- Phosphorus content of the fruit fleshe0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 31%e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Phosphorus content of the fruit flesh was 31% higher in organic apples”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit phosphorus content correlated with inner quality index at r² 0.93.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Compound
- Phosphoruse0
- Outcome
- index of inner qualitye0
- Value
- r2 = 0.93e0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Phosphorus content of the fruit flesh was 31% higher in organic apples and closely correlated (r2 = 0.93) with the index of inner quality”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit phosphorus content correlated with sensory score at r² 0.69.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Compound
- Phosphoruse0
- Outcome
- sensory scoree0
- Value
- r2 = 0.69e0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Phosphorus content of the fruit flesh was 31% higher in organic apples and closely correlated (r2 = 0.93) with the index of inner quality and sensory score (r2 = 0.69)”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
No soil phosphorus extraction method correlated with fruit phosphorus content.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- extraction method of Phosphorus in the soile0
- Outcome
- P-content in the fruitse0
- Direction
- Noe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“No extraction method of Phosphorus in the soil (water, NH4-EDTA, citric acid, CAL) correlated with the P-content in the fruits”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Fruit-flesh phosphorus correlated with soil microbial activity at r² 0.72.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Interactor
- microbiale0other
- Outcome
- P in the fruit fleshe0
- Value
- r2 = 0.72e0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“P in the fruit flesh correlated by r2 = 0.72 with the microbial activity of the soil”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil microbial carbon-to-nitrogen ratio was 44.5% lower in organic tree strips.
Not reportedTaxon
Verbatim
e0“With a value of 3.85 the Cmic:Nmic ratio was 44.5 % lower (thus more favourable) in organic tree strips”
Claim · model-written summary
Flavanols accounted for 65.7% of total polyphenols and were the dominant group.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- Flavanolse0
- Direction
- dominante0
- Value
- 65.7 %e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Flavanols, with 65.7 % of the total polyphenol content were the dominant group of polyphenols”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic apples had 22.7% more flavonols in year one.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- organic applese0
- Outcome
- content of flavonolse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 22.7 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The content of flavonols was 22.7 % higher in organic apples in the first year”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic apples averaged 15.6% more flavonols across three years.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- organic applese0
- Outcome
- content of flavonolse0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 15.6 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The content of flavonols was 22.7 % higher in organic apples in the first year and 15.6 % in the average of the three years”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Self-degradation testing found no significant treatment differences.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- significant differencese0
Not reportedComparatorDirectionValue
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The self-degradation test didn't provide significant differences”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Laboratory rats tended to prefer integrated apples.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Interactor
- Laboratory ratse0other
- Outcome
- tendency to prefer IP applese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Laboratory rats, showed a tendency to prefer IP apples probably due to their advanced ripeness”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
The picture-forming method had repeated-blind-sample reproducibility r² 0.83.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- reproducibilitye0
- Value
- r2 = 0.83e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The picture forming method provided a correct reproducibility with repeated blind samples before and after storage (r2 = 0.83)”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
The picture-forming method correctly distinguished all organic and integrated fruit in year one.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- organic an IP fruite0
- Value
- 100 %e0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“distinguished 100 % correctly organic an IP fruit in the first year”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
The picture-forming method misclassified one sample in year two.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- miss qualificatione0
- Value
- onee0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“In the second year there was one miss qualification”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Organic apples had a 44.6% higher vitality quality index averaged across three dates.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- organic applese0
- Outcome
- index for «vitality quality»e0
- Direction
- highere0
- Value
- 44.6 %e0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The average value over three dates of the index for «vitality quality», which was especially created for this study, was 44.6 % higher with organic apples”
t0“APPLES”
Claim · model-written summary
Picture-forming measures correlated with sensory scores and standard quality at r² 0.63 in year one.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- sensory scores and standard qualitye0
- Value
- r2 = 0.63e0
- Qualifier
- in the first yeare0
- Comparator
- picture forming methodse0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The picture forming methods correlated well with sensory scores and standard quality (r2 = 0.63) in the first year”
t0“APPLES”
The same questions in other papers
cultivation system · quality: general · Malus domestica (apple)Positive and negative results
1 paper in the same direction as this paper · 2 in the opposite direction
- negative
- no effect
- 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.