Pocket refractometer pal 1

The pH was measured on days 1, 13, and at the end of fermentation (day 20) with a pH meter XS PH7 (XS-Instruments, Carpi, Italy). The end of fermentation was set at 20 days after preliminary test indicated it as the time frame necessary to reach the lowest stable pH value (data not shown). In addition, no more sugar consumption was indicated with the use of a Pocket Pal-1 refractometer (Atago Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). salt concentration of the product was measured immediately after preparation and at the endpoint of fermentation with the aid of a conductivity-based pocket salt meter (Atago Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan). Organic acids (L-lactic acid, D-lactic acid, and acetic acid) and sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) were measured using the automatic photometric analyser ItaloS (Exacta + Optech Labcenter S.p.A, San Prospero, Italy). The alcohol content was detected with a spectrophotometer (BeerLab, CDR S.r.l., Firenze, Italy). Organic acids, sugars, and alcohol were measured at the fermentation endpoint using the juice extracted from fermented vegetables (SSJ 300 A2; SilverCrest, Hoyer Handel GmbH, Hamburg, Germany).

The colostrum intake of individual piglets was calculated using the equation reported by Thiel et al. [26 (link)]: −106 + 2.26 WG + 200 BWB + 0.111 D − 1414 WG/D + 0.0182 WG/BWB. Sow colostrum yield was calculated by summing the colostrum intake of all piglets within the litter. Milk yield was estimated using the equation reported by Hansen et al. [27 (link)]: milk yield day 3 to 10 (g) = 1.93 + 0.07 × (litter size − 9.5) + 0.04 × (litter gain, kg/day − 2.05). Milk yield day 10 to 17 (g) = 2.23 + 0.05 × (litter size − 9.5) + 0.23 × (litter gain, kg/day − 2.05). Furthermore, within 1 h after the onset of parturition, the Brix refractometer (Pocket PAL–1 refractometer, Atago, Tokyo, Japan) was used to estimate the colostrum IgG [21 (link)]. The colostrum sample (0.3 mL) was collected manually from the first three pair of teats of the sows and was dropped into the prism chamber of the Brix refractometer using a disposable plastic dropper. The Brix index value was determined immediately after testing.

At the anthesis, flowers were tagged, and fruits were collected at 40 days post-anthesis (DPA) from each accession for measuring morphological and biochemical analysis. The fruits from most accessions at 40 DPA were at the red ripe stage except non-ripening mutants. After harvest, the fruit weight and diameter was measured. The fruit diameter was measured both in vertical and horizontal axis using a digital Vernier caliper (Mitutoyo Absolute Digital Caliper, Japan). Thereafter fruits were homogenized using mortar and pestle, filtered through a sieve and the pH of the homogenate was measured with a pH meter. A 300 μL aliquot of the homogenate was used for measuring the TSS using a refractometer (Atago ® Pocket Refractometer PAL-1, Japan) calibrated with 300 μL milliQ water.