Integration of the microbiome, climate and imaging information to predict fruit quality

在英国上市之前，苹果通常在可控气氛中储存至少六个月。由于各种原因，包括生理障碍和真菌腐烂，贮藏水果遭受10-15%的贮藏后损失是不寻常的。这不仅导致产量损失，而且还增加了水果储存后分选的成本。果实的耐贮性（即贮藏后的果实质量）可受许多因素影响，包括开花时间、采摘时的果实成熟度、果实表面微生物群落和气候因素。此外，水果品质与这些因素的关系通常是非线性的，精确的因果关系尚未阐明。本研究的重点是以下三个科学问题：我们能否利用冬季和春季的气候信息来预测开花时间及其变化？我们可以使用季节气候数据和成像数据来预测水果成熟度吗？我们可以使用水果表面微生物组数据预测贮藏后水果腐烂的发展吗？预测水果成熟度是至关重要的，因为它已经被公认的是，水果成熟度采摘可以显着影响水果的存储潜力。因此，前两个目标侧重于预测水果成熟度，而第三个目标则涉及水果表面微生物组与采后真菌腐烂发展的关系。

Apple fruit are usually stored for minim six months in controlled atmosphere before marketing in the UK. It is not unusual for the stored fruit to suffer from 10-15% post-storage losses due to various causes, including physiological disorders and fungal rotting. This leads to not only yield losses but also increased cost in sorting fruit post-storage. Fruit storability (i.e. post-storage fruit quality) can be affected by many factors, including flowering time, fruit ripeness at picking, fruit surface microflora, and climatic factors. Furthermore, the relationships of fruit quality with these factors are usually non-linear and the precise causal relationships have yet to be elucidated. The research focuses on the following three scientific questions:Can we use winter and spring climatic information to predict flowering time and its variability?Can we use in-season climatic data and imaging data to predict fruit ripeness?Can we use fruit surface microbiome data predict post-storage fruit rot development? Predicting the degree of fruit ripeness is critically important since it has been well established that fruit ripeness at picking could significantly affect fruit storage potential. Thus, the first two objectives focus on predicting fruit ripeness whereas the third concerns with relationship of fruit surface microbiomes with post-harvest fungal rot development.