Apples are one of the most highly consumed fruits globally, with estimations that almost 88 million tonnes of apples are produced worldwide each year. As a result of this popularity, consumers have extremely high expectations of the sensory quality of the apples they consume. Improving the quality of apples provides a comprehensive review of the wealth of research on the processes which determine the key quality attributes of apples, including texture, flavour and nutritional content. The book addresses how these properties can be enhanced during the pre- and postharvest stages to ensure product quality and customer satisfaction, as well as the role of breeding programmes in identifying genes directly related to sensory quality characteristics. In its detailed exploration of the key quality attributes of apples, the book provides its readers with an insight into the science behind producing the 'perfect' product and how influential quality attributes are on consumer purchasing behaviours.

Given the explosive development of new molecular marker techniques over the last decade, newcomers and experts alike in the field of DNA fingerprinting will find an easy-to-follow guide to the multitude of techniques available in DNA Fingerprinting in Plants: Principles, Methods, and Applications, Second Edition. Along with step-by-step annotated protocols, the authors fully discuss the technical aspects and modifications of existing techniques, the influence of reaction components and conditions, and the analysis of the results. This second edition has been completely revised to address the exponential changes in the field since the first edition, focusing on PCR-based techniques but also including more sophisticated ones. The authors include numerous case studies to illustrate applications of the methods, more than 1600 references to the literature, and descriptions of reagent formulation, equipment, and computer programs used for evaluating molecular marker data. They compare the various methods, including the costs and benefits of each, helping readers determine which is best suited to a particular application. The well-rounded, cross-referenced, and unified nature of this book makes it intrinsically easier to follow than the edited, multi-authored books currently available. It is an absolute necessity on the lab bench of anyone involved in plant research, DNA profiling, and molecular markers.

Given the explosive development of new molecular marker techniques over the last decade, newcomers and experts alike in the field of DNA fingerprinting will find an easy-to-follow guide to the multitude of techniques available in DNA Fingerprinting in Plants: Principles, Methods, and Applications, Second Edition. Along with step-by-step annotated protocols, the authors fully discuss the technical aspects and modifications of existing techniques, the influence of reaction components and conditions, and the analysis of the results. This second edition has been completely revised to address the exponential changes in the field since the first edition, focusing on PCR-based techniques but also including more sophisticated ones. The authors include numerous case studies to illustrate applications of the methods, more than 1600 references to the literature, and descriptions of reagent formulation, equipment, and computer programs used for evaluating molecular marker data. They compare the various methods, including the costs and benefits of each, helping readers determine which is best suited to a particular application. The well-rounded, cross-referenced, and unified nature of this book makes it intrinsically easier to follow than the edited, multi-authored books currently available. It is an absolute necessity on the lab bench of anyone involved in plant research, DNA profiling, and molecular markers.