Investigation of Diversity by Analyzing the Polymorphism of SSR Markers and the Composition of Leaf and Fruit Essential Oils of 72 Mandarins (Citrus reticulata Blanco)

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

This paper used 72 mandarin cultivars to investigate their diversity by SSR markers, and the compositions of essential oil from leaf and fruit. The information of this paper is abundant and useful for citurs breeding. After reviewing, I suggest this paper could be accepted after revisions. The comments or the suggestions are below.

1: Did the authors have the phenotyping data to present the diversity of cultivars from Figure 1.

2: The quality of figure 2 and figure 4 is not so good and not clear for authors to identify, try to improve it.

3: On the evaluation of the essential oils from the peel and leaf, the description of the deteails for the sampling are not adequate. Did the leaf samples per cultivar were all from one tree? What is the position of the leaves, outside or inside of the tree? And, in general, the results from field need repeat twice, which means at least two continuous years. Because the results need to avoid the influences from the climate, fertilization and cultivation between years.

For my opinion, the quality of English on this paper is acceptable,  the text is partly fluent but not always. The manuscript needs to check language revision, including the botanical names（italic）

Author Response

We thank the reviewers for their time in correcting our manuscript. The answers have been written in blue color and the corrections in the text are visible (track changes function).

Reviewer 1

This paper used 72 mandarin cultivars to investigate their diversity by SSR markers, and the compositions of essential oil from leaf and fruit. The information of this paper is abundant and useful for citurs breeding. After reviewing, I suggest this paper could be accepted after revisions. The comments or the suggestions are below.

1: Did the authors have the phenotyping data to present the diversity of cultivars from Figure 1.

We do not have phenotypic data on cultivar diversity. The photos of fruits presented in Figure 1 is a way for the reader to appreciate the phenotypic diversity of mandarin trees. As you point out in your assessment, the information in this paper is abundant and as the objective of the manuscript is to compare genetic and chemical diversities, we have therefore chosen not to add additional information on the phenotype.   

2: The quality of figure 2 and figure 4 is not so good and not clear for authors to identify, try to improve it.

We have increased the font size to make it easier to read the cultivar names.

3: On the evaluation of the essential oils from the peel and leaf, the description of the deteails for the sampling are not adequate. Did the leaf samples per cultivar were all from one tree? What is the position of the leaves, outside or inside of the tree? And, in general, the results from field need repeat twice, which means at least two continuous years. Because the results need to avoid the influences from the climate, fertilization and cultivation between years.

Leaves were collected from 3 trees on the southeast-facing side and located at the tree's periphery. It is not necessarily necessary to repeat the analysis over two years when the objective is to show differences between cultivars as long as all trees are under the same growing conditions. The objective of the work is not to see if the profile changes over time (from one year to the next) but to demonstrate the different types of profiles according to the majority compounds, which can be found in mandarin trees. Furthermore, in the discussion section we have shown that the chemical profiles of mandarin trees already analyzed 20 years earlier were almost unchanged. We have already published articles where we mentioned the absence of major changes (or very small changes) in the composition of essential oils of citrus leaves and fruits (Luro et al. 2019, Ferrer et al. 2021, 2023). 

 

Comments on the Quality of English Language

For my opinion, the quality of English on this paper is acceptable, the text is partly fluent but not always. The manuscript needs to check language revision, including the botanical names（italic）

The English language has been edited by AJE

All botanical names have been italicized.

Reviewer 2 Report

 

The manuscript submitted by Luro et al. describes the genetic and chemical diversity of 72 mandarins. The topics described are interesting. However, I have found some issues as follows that need to be addressed and corrected.

 

Overall, I think the explanations are somewhat confusing. It needs to be rewritten and revised.

 

It is not clear to me how the 8 and 9 aromatic profiles were identified in PEO and LEO, respectively (line 22-23).

 

How are cultivar and accession defined, sometimes cultivar is used and sometimes accession is used.

 

Line 226. Why only 70 mandarins? Not 72?

 

Unify the notation, such as Supplemental file, Supplemental data, Supplementary file, etc.

 

It must be helpful to the reader if the same genotype cultivars (lines 421-422) are marked in Figures 4 and 6.

 

Minor comments

Table 1. CIVN should be ICVN.

 

The writing style and English of the manuscript has to be checked by a professional editor.

Author Response

We thank the reviewers for their time in correcting our manuscript. The answers have been written in blue color and the corrections in the text are visible (track changes function).

The manuscript submitted by Luro et al. describes the genetic and chemical diversity of 72 mandarins. The topics described are interesting. However, I have found some issues as follows that need to be addressed and corrected.

Overall, I think the explanations are somewhat confusing. It needs to be rewritten and revised.

 

It is not clear to me how the 8 and 9 aromatic profiles were identified in PEO and LEO, respectively (line 22-23).

From line 307 to 324 on the basis of the majority compounds of the PEO composition table we describe the 8 chemical profiles. 

Among the 69 cultivars, four unique PEO profiles were distinguished from the others by atypical compositions corresponding to a single cultivar. ‘Tachibana’ showed a limonene/g-terpinene profile but with a specific compound, d-3-carene, and one a-phellandrene also present in 'Korai tachibana'. The profile of 'Korai tachibana’ differed by the absence of g-terpinene but especially by the presence of a high proportion of b-phellandrene (5.2%), while it was only present between 0.1 and 0.3% in other mandarin PEOs. The cultivars 'Ben di gang ju' and 'Kunembo' had a very high proportion of myrcene (>30%), while this compound did not exceed 2.1% in the other cultivars. The profile of 'Shekwasha' was composed of 53.8% limonene (the lowest level), 23.4% g-terpinene, 8.9% p-cymene (the highest proportion) and the presence of two specific compounds (carvone and g-cadinene). The rest of the mandarin cultivars represented 3 profiles characterized by the major compounds as follows: limonene/g-terpinene/p-cymene, limonene/g-terpinene and limonene (> 92%).

This way of classifying cultivars has already been used in articles cited in the manuscript, notably those of Lota et al 2000, 2001 and Fanciullino et al. 2005. If we take into account the contribution of compounds in lower proportions (but higher than the 1% threshold at least once), we obtain the chemical diversity of figure 4 where we clearly distinguish 8 PEO profiles: three clusters 1, 2, 3 plus 5 profiles corresponding to single genotypes( tangor H56, Shekwasha, Ben di gang ju / Kuembo), Korai tachibana and Tachibana.

Based on the 33 aromatic compounds exceeding the 3% threshold for at least one cultivar, we obtained the classification of mandarin trees as presented by the heatmap in Figure 6. Nine chemical profiles were observed and described in the text , eight clusters (1, 2a, 2b, 3a, 3b, 3c, 4, 5) and one for tangor Ambersweet. 

How are cultivar and accession defined, sometimes cultivar is used and sometimes accession is used.

An accession corresponds to the introduction of a citrus plant in the collection marked by an identification number (ICVN) associated with a date of introduction. In the list of mandarin trees studied in this manuscript, 72 accessions were chosen representing 70 cultivars (70 different names) because for Sunki and Ellendale there were 2 accessions for each bearing the same name. After genetic and chemical analysis, we can conclude that the 2 accessions of Ellendale are identical. On the other hand, the two accessions of Sunki are genetically and chemically different. So finally, after the analyses the 72 mandarin accessions included 71 cultivars.

In Table 1, the two Ellendale trees are two accessions of the same genotype, and the other mandarin trees are described as cultivars because they have different names. “Fifty-five genetic profiles or genotypes have been detected, and among them, nine genotypes represented several cultivars or accessions (Table 1)”.

 

Line 226. Why only 70 mandarins? Not 72?

 We have corrected this error

Unify the notation, such as Supplemental file, Supplemental data, Supplementary file, etc.

 We have unified the notation: Supplementary materials

It must be helpful to the reader if the same genotype cultivars (lines 421-422) are marked in Figures 4 and 6.

We have corrected the names in the text to be identical to those in the figures

Minor comments

Table 1. CIVN should be ICVN.

We have corrected this error

 

The writing style and English of the manuscript has to be checked by a professional editor.

The English language has been verified by AJE

 

 

Reviewer 3 Report

Manuscript Number: horticulturae-2381781, titled:

 

 

Investigation of diversity by analyzing the polymorphism of SSR markers and the composition of leaf and fruit essential oils of 72 mandarins (Citrus reticulata Blanco

 

Review 1 – 26 April 2023

 

Dear Editor of Horticulturae

 

the argument is interesting but it has to be improved. The introduction section has to be better presented and the M&M section has to be completed. The analytical methods have to be described. The bibliography has to be extended, improved and updated. The manuscript is not always arranged as per the instructions for authors of Horticulturae. Inaccuracies in the text.

 

 

I suggest a major revision

 

To the Authors (in detail):

 

1. the argument is interesting but it has to be improved. The introduction section has to be better presented and the M&M section has to be completed. The analytical methods have to be better described. The bibliography has to be improved. The manuscript is not always arranged as per the instructions for authors of Horticulturae. Inaccuracies in the text.

 

2. Keywords, line 26, verify the punctuation, delete semicolon after “keywors”;
3. Introduction section, line 32 and in the whole manuscript, tables and figures, please apply the binomial nomenclature: Genus and species in italic;
4. Introduction section, lines 46, 51 and in the whole manuscript, please, when you write a reference, apply the Horticulturae (MDPI) instructions for authors and number the references;
5. Introduction section, lines 68-69: Tardivo di Ciaculli and not Tardivo de Ciaculli;

 

6. Introduction section, line 87: α-Pinene: Pinene in capital letter after the dot;
7. Introduction section, line 94, insert one space between to and 0.1%;
8. Introduction section, lines 97-99, extend this paragraph and also explain that essential oil composition in citrus fruits is also influenced by: cultivar [X1]; viroid infection [X2]. Please, support this statement with proper references. Find, read and discuss [X1, X2]:

 

 

[X1] Citrus bergamia, Risso: the peel, the juice and the seed oil of the bergamot fruit of Reggio Calabria (South Italy).

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture 32(7) 522-532 (2020).

DOI: 10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i7.2128

 

[X2] Essential oil components of Citrus cultivar ‘MALTAISE DEMI SANGUINE’ (Citrus sinensis) as affected by the effects of rootstocks and viroid infection.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD PROPERTIES 2019, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 438–448 https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1588296

 

9. Sub-section 2.1, line 116: These, in capital letter;
10. sub-section 2.3, please specify the ratio vegetable material/water used for distillation and specify the type of water;
11. sub sub-section 2.4.1, lines 171-172, please complete the information and insert the words length and internal diameter (or I.D.), to standardise with film thickness;
12. sub sub-section 2.4.2, complete the information about the column with the words: length and internal diameter to be consistent with film thickness, please, standardise also in light of the previous section;
13. sub sub-section 2.4.2, line 189, when you indicate a temperature, please, separate the numeric value and the symbol: 250 °C and not 250°C;
14. sub sub-section 2.4.3., line 198 and in the whole manuscript, tables and figures, please replace ppm with mg/L or mg/kg;
15. sub sub-section 2.4.4., line 208, delete one space before … was;
16. in the whole manuscript, please, specify when cultivar and when variety, you use these terms indifferently;
17. sub-section 3.3, Tardivo di Ciaculli, Ciaculli in capital letter, it is a town of Sicily (Italy);
18. Conclusion section, please, extend the industrial importance of your results;
19. References section, ref 1, delete one space between Ann. And Bot.;
20. Ref 2, please, write well the name journal;
21. ref 23, 2022b, it is not necessary to distinguish with b, because the references are numbered;
22. ref 23, the journal name and the volume number have to be italicised, see the instructions for authors;
23. ref 44 and in the whole manuscript, the scientific name has to be italicised;
24. Please, write in blue color or evidence differently the corrections you will do.

 

I suggest a major revision

 

Regards.

 

Manuscript Number: horticulturae-2381781, titled:

 

 

Investigation of diversity by analyzing the polymorphism of SSR markers and the composition of leaf and fruit essential oils of 72 mandarins (Citrus reticulata Blanco

 

Review 1 – 26 April 2023

 

Dear Editor of Horticulturae

 

the argument is interesting but it has to be improved. The introduction section has to be better presented and the M&M section has to be completed. The analytical methods have to be described. The bibliography has to be extended, improved and updated. The manuscript is not always arranged as per the instructions for authors of Horticulturae. Inaccuracies in the text.

 

 

I suggest a major revision

 

To the Authors (in detail):

 

1. the argument is interesting but it has to be improved. The introduction section has to be better presented and the M&M section has to be completed. The analytical methods have to be better described. The bibliography has to be improved. The manuscript is not always arranged as per the instructions for authors of Horticulturae. Inaccuracies in the text.

 

2. Keywords, line 26, verify the punctuation, delete semicolon after “keywors”;
3. Introduction section, line 32 and in the whole manuscript, tables and figures, please apply the binomial nomenclature: Genus and species in italic;
4. Introduction section, lines 46, 51 and in the whole manuscript, please, when you write a reference, apply the Horticulturae (MDPI) instructions for authors and number the references;
5. Introduction section, lines 68-69: Tardivo di Ciaculli and not Tardivo de Ciaculli;

 

6. Introduction section, line 87: α-Pinene: Pinene in capital letter after the dot;
7. Introduction section, line 94, insert one space between to and 0.1%;
8. Introduction section, lines 97-99, extend this paragraph and also explain that essential oil composition in citrus fruits is also influenced by: cultivar [X1]; viroid infection [X2]. Please, support this statement with proper references. Find, read and discuss [X1, X2]:

 

 

[X1] Citrus bergamia, Risso: the peel, the juice and the seed oil of the bergamot fruit of Reggio Calabria (South Italy).

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture 32(7) 522-532 (2020).

DOI: 10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i7.2128

 

[X2] Essential oil components of Citrus cultivar ‘MALTAISE DEMI SANGUINE’ (Citrus sinensis) as affected by the effects of rootstocks and viroid infection.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD PROPERTIES 2019, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 438–448 https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1588296

 

9. Sub-section 2.1, line 116: These, in capital letter;
10. sub-section 2.3, please specify the ratio vegetable material/water used for distillation and specify the type of water;
11. sub sub-section 2.4.1, lines 171-172, please complete the information and insert the words length and internal diameter (or I.D.), to standardise with film thickness;
12. sub sub-section 2.4.2, complete the information about the column with the words: length and internal diameter to be consistent with film thickness, please, standardise also in light of the previous section;
13. sub sub-section 2.4.2, line 189, when you indicate a temperature, please, separate the numeric value and the symbol: 250 °C and not 250°C;
14. sub sub-section 2.4.3., line 198 and in the whole manuscript, tables and figures, please replace ppm with mg/L or mg/kg;
15. sub sub-section 2.4.4., line 208, delete one space before … was;
16. in the whole manuscript, please, specify when cultivar and when variety, you use these terms indifferently;
17. sub-section 3.3, Tardivo di Ciaculli, Ciaculli in capital letter, it is a town of Sicily (Italy);
18. Conclusion section, please, extend the industrial importance of your results;
19. References section, ref 1, delete one space between Ann. And Bot.;
20. Ref 2, please, write well the name journal;
21. ref 23, 2022b, it is not necessary to distinguish with b, because the references are numbered;
22. ref 23, the journal name and the volume number have to be italicised, see the instructions for authors;
23. ref 44 and in the whole manuscript, the scientific name has to be italicised;
24. Please, write in blue color or evidence differently the corrections you will do.

 

I suggest a major revision

 

Regards.

 

Author Response

We thank the reviewers for their time in correcting our manuscript. The answers have been written in blue color and the corrections in the text are visible (track changes function).

the argument is interesting but it has to be improved. The introduction section has to be better presented and the M&M section has to be completed. The analytical methods have to be described. The bibliography has to be extended, improved and updated. The manuscript is not always arranged as per the instructions for authors of Horticulturae. Inaccuracies in the text.

 

 

I suggest a major revision

 

To the Authors (in detail):

 

1. the argument is interesting but it has to be improved. The introduction section has to be better presented and the M&M section has to be completed. The analytical methods have to be better described. The bibliography has to be improved. The manuscript is not always arranged as per the instructions for authors of Horticulturae. Inaccuracies in the text.

 

1. Keywords, line 26, verify the punctuation, delete semicolon after “keywors”;

Done

1. Introduction section, line 32 and in the whole manuscript, tables and figures, please apply the binomial nomenclature: Genus and species in italic;

We have corrected and applied the binomial nomenclature for species

1. Introduction section, lines 46, 51 and in the whole manuscript, please, when you write a reference, apply the Horticulturae (MDPI) instructions for authors and number the references;

We have corrected the manuscript applying the MDPI instructions for references

1. Introduction section, lines 68-69: Tardivo di Ciaculli and not Tardivo de Ciaculli;

 Corrected

1. Introduction section, line 87: α-Pinene: Pinene in capital letter after the dot;

Done

1. Introduction section, line 94, insert one space between to and 0.1%;

The space was already present

1. Introduction section, lines 97-99, extend this paragraph and also explain that essential oil composition in citrus fruits is also influenced by: cultivar [X1]; viroid infection [X2]. Please, support this statement with proper references. Find, read and discuss [X1, X2]:

In the paragraphs between lines 73-96 we mention the compositional diversity observed in mandarin group (cultivar’s influence) with the references 15-17 (Lota et al 2000; 2001; Fanciulino et al. 2006) and 19 (Gonzales-Mas et al. 2019). Therefore, it is not necessary to add variety as a variation factor in the sentence in line 97.

We have also mentioned as a factor of variation in the composition of essential oils, the health of the tree, which includes diseases linked to microorganisms. We cited the reference 24 (Sun et al. 2021) which developed works on the variation in PEO composition of orange infected by Huanglongbing (bacterial disease). We do not believe that it is necessary to add an article on the effect of a viroid on the composition of orange PEO. The objective of the article being to reveal the diversity of aromatic and genetic profiles between mandarin cultivars under the same growing and environmental conditions, so we consider that it is useless to develop the factors of PEO variation.

The point of this sentence is to say some factors other than the variety can modify the composition of PEO: environment, rootstock, disease, method of extraction and analysis of essential oils. However, as described in the material and method and in the reference 28, these factors have no effect in our study since we have the same environment, the same rootstock, healthy trees and the same method of extraction and analysis of essential oils.

 

[X1] Citrus bergamia, Risso: the peel, the juice and the seed oil of the bergamot fruit of Reggio Calabria (South Italy).

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture 32(7) 522-532 (2020).

DOI: 10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i7.2128

 

[X2] Essential oil components of Citrus cultivar ‘MALTAISE DEMI SANGUINE’ (Citrus sinensis) as affected by the effects of rootstocks and viroid infection.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD PROPERTIES 2019, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 438–448 https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1588296

 

1. Sub-section 2.1, line 116: These, in capital letter;

Done

1. sub-section 2.3, please specify the ratio vegetable material/water used for distillation and specify the type of water;

The information was added: Fresh leaves were submitted to water distillation for 2 h 30 using a Clevenger-type apparatus in 2 L balloon with a ratio of 200 g of leaves / 1 L of distillated water.

1. sub sub-section 2.4.1, lines 171-172, please complete the information and insert the words length and internal diameter (or I.D.), to standardise with film thickness;

The words length and internal diameter are added.

1. sub sub-section 2.4.2, complete the information about the column with the words: length and internal diameter to be consistent with film thickness, please, standardise also in light of the previous section;

We standardize the data to the previous section.

1. sub sub-section 2.4.2, line 189, when you indicate a temperature, please, separate the numeric value and the symbol: 250 °C and not 250°C;

Done

1. sub sub-section 2.4.3., line 198 and in the whole manuscript, tables and figures, please replace ppm with mg/L or mg/kg;

The unit of NMR chemical shift is a ppm. Indeed, it is a ratio between Hz and MHz.

1. sub sub-section 2.4.4., line 208, delete one space before … was;

Done

1. in the whole manuscript, please, specify when cultivar and when variety, you use these terms indifferently;

We replaced the term of variety by cultivar

1. sub-section 3.3, Tardivo di Ciaculli, Ciaculli in capital letter, it is a town of Sicily (Italy);

The correction was done

1. Conclusion section, please, extend the industrial importance of your results;

As suggested by the reviewer we added the following sentences at the end of the conclusion: Originality is a marketing asset sought by the cosmetics and food industry to develop and market new products. The aromatic diversity of mandarin trees revealed in this work could then be exploited directly for the creation of new aromas and fragrances or can suggest to breeders crosses between genotypes to combine parental aromatic compounds and create new profiles.

 

1. References section, ref 1, delete one space between Ann. And Bot.;

done

1. Ref 2, please, write well the name journal;

done

1. ref 23, 2022b, it is not necessary to distinguish with b, because the references are numbered;

done

1. ref 23, the journal name and the volume number have to be italicised, see the instructions for authors;

done

1. ref 44 and in the whole manuscript, the scientific name has to be italicised;

done

1. Please, write in blue color or evidence differently the corrections you will do.

 

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

I noticed that the authors explained the leaf sampling , the leaves were collected from 3 trees on the southeast-facing side and located at the tree's periphery. But I did not see the authors add this in the paper. I think the sampling method is important for a scientific paper.

I think the quality of English Language has been improved.

Author Response

Reviewer 1

I noticed that the authors explained the leaf sampling , the leaves were collected from 3 trees on the southeast-facing side and located at the tree's periphery. But I did not see the authors add this in the paper. I think the sampling method is important for a scientific paper.

Authors' response: we have added this sentence in the paragraph 'material and method': The leaves were collected from 3 trees on the southeast-facing side and located at the tree's periphery.

Reviewer 2 Report

 

Most of my concerns have been remedied in the revised manuscript. Parts of Figures 3 and 4 are not shown and need to be corrected.

 

The majority of the text appears to be the same as in the previous version. I am wondering if a professional editor has edited the English after the revision.

Author Response

Reviewer 2:

Most of my concerns have been remedied in the revised manuscript. Parts of Figures 3 and 4 are not shown and need to be corrected.

Authors' response: it's just a question of layout, the correction was made.

The English language of the manuscript was corrected by AJE before the submission (verification code: OFFD-3265-E816-3B1A-D856)

Reviewer 3 Report

Manuscript Number: horticulturae-2381781, titled:

 

 Investigation of diversity by analyzing the polymorphism of SSR markers and the composition of leaf and fruit essential oils of 72 mandarins (Citrus reticulata Blanco

 

Review 2 – 5 May 2023

 

Dear Editor of Horticulturae

 

the argument is interesting the authors have included almost all my comments. Some inaccuracy in the manuscript.

 

 

I suggest a minor revision

 

To Authors (in detail):

 

 

1. the argument is interesting the authors have included almost all my comments. Some inaccuracy in the manuscript.

 

2. Introduction section, lines 97-98, extend this paragraph and also explain that essential oil composition in citrus fruits is also influenced by: cultivar [X1]; viroid infection [X2]. Please, support this statement with proper references. Find, read and discuss [X1, X2]:

 

[X1] Citrus bergamia, Risso: the peel, the juice and the seed oil of the bergamot fruit of Reggio Calabria (South Italy).

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture 32(7) 522-532 (2020).

DOI: 10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i7.2128

 

[X2] Essential oil components of Citrus cultivar ‘MALTAISE DEMI SANGUINE’ (Citrus sinensis) as affected by the effects of rootstocks and viroid infection.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD PROPERTIES 2019, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 438–448 https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1588296

 

3. sub-section 2.3, line 15: distilled water and not distillated water;
4. sub sub-section 2.4.1, lines 171-172, please write well the information and modify the punctuation, I suggest: (length 50 m; 172 internal diameter 0.22 mm; film thickness 0.25 µm);
5. the figure 3 seems not to be in the entirely in the page;
6. References section, ref 21, it is not necessary to specify the publication year as 2022a, because the references are numbered;
7. Ref 40, Citrus reticulata has to be italicised;
8. Please, write in blue color or evidence differently the corrections you will do.

 

I suggest a minor revision

 

Regards.

 

Manuscript Number: horticulturae-2381781, titled:

 

 

Investigation of diversity by analyzing the polymorphism of SSR markers and the composition of leaf and fruit essential oils of 72 mandarins (Citrus reticulata Blanco

 

Review 2 – 5 May 2023

 

Dear Editor of Horticulturae

 

the argument is interesting the authors have included almost all my comments. Some inaccuracy in the manuscript.

 

 

I suggest a minor revision

 

To Authors (in detail):

 

 

1. the argument is interesting the authors have included almost all my comments. Some inaccuracy in the manuscript.

 

2. Introduction section, lines 97-98, extend this paragraph and also explain that essential oil composition in citrus fruits is also influenced by: cultivar [X1]; viroid infection [X2]. Please, support this statement with proper references. Find, read and discuss [X1, X2]:

 

[X1] Citrus bergamia, Risso: the peel, the juice and the seed oil of the bergamot fruit of Reggio Calabria (South Italy).

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture 32(7) 522-532 (2020).

DOI: 10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i7.2128

 

[X2] Essential oil components of Citrus cultivar ‘MALTAISE DEMI SANGUINE’ (Citrus sinensis) as affected by the effects of rootstocks and viroid infection.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD PROPERTIES 2019, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 438–448 https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1588296

 

3. sub-section 2.3, line 15: distilled water and not distillated water;
4. sub sub-section 2.4.1, lines 171-172, please write well the information and modify the punctuation, I suggest: (length 50 m; 172 internal diameter 0.22 mm; film thickness 0.25 µm);
5. the figure 3 seems not to be in the entirely in the page;
6. References section, ref 21, it is not necessary to specify the publication year as 2022a, because the references are numbered;
7. Ref 40, Citrus reticulata has to be italicised;
8. Please, write in blue color or evidence differently the corrections you will do.

 

I suggest a minor revision

 

Regards.

 

Author Response

1. Introduction section, lines 97-98, extend this paragraph and also explain that essential oil composition in citrus fruits is also influenced by: cultivar [X1]; viroid infection [X2]. Please, support this statement with proper references. Find, read and discuss [X1, X2]:

[X1] Citrus bergamia, Risso: the peel, the juice and the seed oil of the bergamot fruit of Reggio Calabria (South Italy).

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture 32(7) 522-532 (2020).

DOI: 10.9755/ejfa.2020.v32.i7.2128

 

[X2] Essential oil components of Citrus cultivar ‘MALTAISE DEMI SANGUINE’ (Citrus sinensis) as affected by the effects of rootstocks and viroid infection.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF FOOD PROPERTIES 2019, VOL. 22, NO. 1, 438–448 https://doi.org/10.1080/10942912.2019.1588296

Authors' response: As requested by reviewer 3 we added the two suggested references and discussed the results as follows:

The composition of essential oils can fluctuate depending on many factors such as the environment [20], the stage of fruit maturity [21], the rootstock [22, 23], extraction method [24], the health of the tree [25,26], the genotype [27] and the climate changes [27]. Variations in PEO composition can be very significant, as in the case of bergamot PEO, where the proportion of linalyl acetate, varied during the ripening period from 17.07% to 40.37% [27]. For trees infected by viroid (CEVd) the proportion of oxygenated compounds in the PEO of ‘Maltaise demi Sanguine’ sweet orange, increased (about 50%) with C. macrophylla and C. volkameriana as rootstocks while a decreased of 60% to 70% was observed with 4475 citrumelo and C. reshni [26]. On healthy trees, the rootstock can also have an influence on the composition of orange PEO: the proportion of limonene varied from 69.51% to 93.34% respectively with C. macrophylla and C. aurantium [26].

 

1. sub-section 2.3, line 15: distilled water and not distillated water;

The correction was made.

 

1. sub sub-section 2.4.1, lines 171-172, please write well the information and modify the punctuation, I suggest: (length 50 m; 172 internal diameter 0.22 mm; film thickness 0.25 µm);

The correction was made.

 

1. the figure 3 seems not to be in the entirely in the page;

it's just a question of layout, the correction was made.

 

1. References section, ref 21, it is not necessary to specify the publication year as 2022a, because the references are numbered;

Done.

 

1. Ref 40, Citrus reticulata has to be italicised;

Done.

 

1. Please, write in blue color or evidence differently the corrections you will do.

Done.