Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector

The quality defects of hazelnut fruits comprise changes in morphology and taste, and their intensity mainly depends on seasonal environmental conditions. The strongest off-flavor of hazelnuts is known as rotten defect, whose candidate causal agents are a complex of fungal pathogens, with Diaporthe a...

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Main Authors: Taynara Valeriano, Kim Fischer, Fabrizio Ginaldi, Laura Giustarini, Giuseppe Castello, Simone Bregaglio
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2022-04-01
Series:Frontiers in Plant Science
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.766493/full
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author Taynara Valeriano
Taynara Valeriano
Kim Fischer
Fabrizio Ginaldi
Laura Giustarini
Giuseppe Castello
Simone Bregaglio
author_facet Taynara Valeriano
Taynara Valeriano
Kim Fischer
Fabrizio Ginaldi
Laura Giustarini
Giuseppe Castello
Simone Bregaglio
author_sort Taynara Valeriano
collection DOAJ
description The quality defects of hazelnut fruits comprise changes in morphology and taste, and their intensity mainly depends on seasonal environmental conditions. The strongest off-flavor of hazelnuts is known as rotten defect, whose candidate causal agents are a complex of fungal pathogens, with Diaporthe as the dominant genus. Timely indications on the expected incidence of rotten defect would be essential for buyers to identify areas where hazelnut quality will be superior, other than being useful for farmers to have the timely indications of the risk of pathogens infection. Here, we propose a rotten defect forecasting model, and we apply it in the seven main hazelnut producing municipalities in Turkey. We modulate plant susceptibility to fungal infection according to simulated hazelnut phenology, and we reproduce the key components of the Diaporthe spp. epidemiological cycle via a process-based simulation model. A model sensitivity analysis has been performed under contrasting weather conditions to select most relevant parameters for calibration, which relied on weekly phenological observations and the post-harvest analyses of rotten incidence in the period 2016–2019, conducted in 22 orchards. The rotten simulation model reproduced rotten incidence data in calibration and validation datasets with a mean absolute error below 1.8%. The dataset used for model validation (321 additional sampling locations) has been characterized by large variability of rotten incidence, in turn contributing to decrease the correlation between reference and simulated data (R2 = 0.4 and 0.21 in West and East Black Sea region, respectively). This denotes the key effect of other environmental and agronomic factors on rotten incidence, which are not yet taken into account by the predictive workflow and will be considered in further improvements. When applied in spatially distributed simulations, the model differentiated the rotten incidence across municipalities, and reproduced the interannual variability of rotten incidence. Our results confirmed that the rotten defect is strictly dependent on precipitation amount and timing, and that plant susceptibility is crucial to trigger fungal infections. Future steps will envisage the application of the rotten simulation model to other hazelnut producing regions, before being operationally used for in-season forecasting activities.
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spelling doaj.art-622b64603b27480c92bde07225423aa82022-12-22T03:14:15ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Plant Science1664-462X2022-04-011310.3389/fpls.2022.766493766493Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut SectorTaynara Valeriano0Taynara Valeriano1Kim Fischer2Fabrizio Ginaldi3Laura Giustarini4Giuseppe Castello5Simone Bregaglio6Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Bologna, ItalyFerrero Hazelnut Company, Ferrero Trading Lux S.A., Senningerberg, LuxembourgFerrero Hazelnut Company, Ferrero Trading Lux S.A., Senningerberg, LuxembourgCouncil for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Bologna, ItalyRSS-Hydro SARLS, Dudelange, LuxembourgSOREMARTEC ITALIA S.r.l., Alba, ItalyCouncil for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA), Research Centre for Agriculture and Environment, Bologna, ItalyThe quality defects of hazelnut fruits comprise changes in morphology and taste, and their intensity mainly depends on seasonal environmental conditions. The strongest off-flavor of hazelnuts is known as rotten defect, whose candidate causal agents are a complex of fungal pathogens, with Diaporthe as the dominant genus. Timely indications on the expected incidence of rotten defect would be essential for buyers to identify areas where hazelnut quality will be superior, other than being useful for farmers to have the timely indications of the risk of pathogens infection. Here, we propose a rotten defect forecasting model, and we apply it in the seven main hazelnut producing municipalities in Turkey. We modulate plant susceptibility to fungal infection according to simulated hazelnut phenology, and we reproduce the key components of the Diaporthe spp. epidemiological cycle via a process-based simulation model. A model sensitivity analysis has been performed under contrasting weather conditions to select most relevant parameters for calibration, which relied on weekly phenological observations and the post-harvest analyses of rotten incidence in the period 2016–2019, conducted in 22 orchards. The rotten simulation model reproduced rotten incidence data in calibration and validation datasets with a mean absolute error below 1.8%. The dataset used for model validation (321 additional sampling locations) has been characterized by large variability of rotten incidence, in turn contributing to decrease the correlation between reference and simulated data (R2 = 0.4 and 0.21 in West and East Black Sea region, respectively). This denotes the key effect of other environmental and agronomic factors on rotten incidence, which are not yet taken into account by the predictive workflow and will be considered in further improvements. When applied in spatially distributed simulations, the model differentiated the rotten incidence across municipalities, and reproduced the interannual variability of rotten incidence. Our results confirmed that the rotten defect is strictly dependent on precipitation amount and timing, and that plant susceptibility is crucial to trigger fungal infections. Future steps will envisage the application of the rotten simulation model to other hazelnut producing regions, before being operationally used for in-season forecasting activities.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.766493/fullsimulation modeldecision support systemrotten hazelnutsensitivity analysisautomatic calibration
spellingShingle Taynara Valeriano
Taynara Valeriano
Kim Fischer
Fabrizio Ginaldi
Laura Giustarini
Giuseppe Castello
Simone Bregaglio
Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector
Frontiers in Plant Science
simulation model
decision support system
rotten hazelnut
sensitivity analysis
automatic calibration
title Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector
title_full Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector
title_fullStr Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector
title_full_unstemmed Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector
title_short Rotten Hazelnuts Prediction via Simulation Modeling—A Case Study on the Turkish Hazelnut Sector
title_sort rotten hazelnuts prediction via simulation modeling a case study on the turkish hazelnut sector
topic simulation model
decision support system
rotten hazelnut
sensitivity analysis
automatic calibration
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.766493/full
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