Current consumer trends require food products with „healthy image“. This has led to an increased interest in traditional fruit cultivars and related products. Traditional apple cultivars in Bosnia and Herzegovina are a valuable source of desirable genetic characteristics including important pomological, nutritional and technological characteristics of the fruit. The sugar and organic acid profile of fruit is an important component of chemical composition and provides valuable information regarding the authenticity of fruit products. They also have an effect on the sensory properties and nutritional value of fruit products. Ten traditional and two international commercial apple cultivars were analyzed, using HPLC, for individual sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose and sorbitol) and individual organic acids (malic, citric, shikimic and fumaric acids). Fructose was the most abundant among sugars that were quantified in apple fruit, followed by glucose, sucrose and sorbitol. Malic acid was predominated among the individual organic acids in both traditional and international apple cultivars, followed by citric, fumaric and shikimic acid. It was also found that cultivar had a significant influence on individual sugars and organic acid in the fruit. Generally, traditional apple cultivars had higher sugar content and lower organic acid in relation to international ones and with respect of this they are sweet and good for direct consumption and “pekmez” production.

Cilj ovog istraživanja je bio ispitati sadržaj toksičnih teških metala Cd, Cr i Pb u intenzivnom nasadu jabuke sorte Idared, smještenom na području općine Goražde, te utvrditi njihovu akumulaciju u plodovima jabuke. Sadržaj Cd, Cr i Pb u ispitivanim uzorcima tla i plodova jabuke određen je metodom atomske apsorpcijske spektrofotometrije. Prosječni sadržaj kadmija u ispitivanom tlu je iznosio 0.15, kroma 43.98, a olova 47.48 mg kg -1 suhe tvari. Akumulacija navedenih elemenata u plodovima jabuke je bila izuzetno niska. Prisutnost olova i kadmija u plodovima jabuke nije niti determinirana, dok je utvrđeni sadržaj kroma bio znatno ispod graničnih vrijednosti, propisanih od strane WTO (Svjetske zdravstvene organizacije). Rezultati istraživanja su pokazali da se tlo na ispitivanom lokalitetu može smatrati pogodnim za proizvodnju zdravstveno ispravnih plodova jabuke, pod uvjetom da se uzgoj obavlja u skladu s principima integrirane proizvodnje.

It is estimated that in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, annual postharvest loss of fruits and vegetables is as high as 30-40%. To elucidate causes of such high postharvest losses, an analysis of the cold chain systems in these countries was made. Bosnia and Herzegovina has 61266 t of total storage capacity (16980 t of CA storage). Main fruit crop is plum (142200 t), but most of this crop is processed into brandy. The second fruit crop is apple (63600 t) and the lack of appropriate storage capacity for this crop is evident. In Croatia there is about 125000 t of storage capacity. CA storage comprises only 33750 t and is mainly used for apple. Annual apple production in Croatia is 70100 t, which means that CA storage should be doubled to allow storage of whole crop in adequate conditions. Total capacity for refrigerated or frozen storage in Serbia was estimated at 550.000 t. Most of this capacity is used for frozen raspberries (more of 100.000 t). Serbian CA storage capacity is between 50.000-60.000 t. Annual apple production in Serbia is 241200 t, and the lack of appropriate storage space is evident. Vegetable production is similar for all three countries (potatoes and cabbage crops are the most produced crops). In Serbia, there are relatively few cold storage facilities, with small capacities (150 and 2500 t), for storing fresh vegetables (carrot, parsnip, onion and potatoes) and similar situation is in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Postharvest losses in studied countries are mainly caused by physiological disorders, decay and deterioration caused by broad spectrum of products stored in inadequate conditions. Main physiological fruit disorders are superficial scald, bitter pit and chilling injury. Decay caused by phytopathogenic fungi and weight loss significantly contributes to high postharvest losses in some crops (peach, nectarine, satsuma and carrot). To improve situation and decrease postharvest losses of the horticultural products, there is an urgent need for establishing long-term network among all segments of postharvest sector. Founding applicative postharvest research suited to specific situation in described countries is of vital importance to achieve competitiveness of domestic postharvest sector.

Plums represented a very significant economic factor in Bosnia in the twentieth century. Dominant in plum assortment is 'Pozegaca', but the appearance of the Plum pox caused a stagnation of plum production. The aim of this paper is to describe the basic pomological characteristics of fruit at six autochthonous plum genotypes: two types of 'Pozegaca' from locality Glavaticevo-Konjic, one type of 'Pozegaca' from locality Sovici-Jablanica, two types of 'Havaca' (from localities Doboj Istok and Gradacac) and one type of 'Sisaca' from locality Doboj Istok. Fruit weight of the genotypes ranged from 15.8 g in genotype 'Sisaca', up to 19.3 g in genotype 'Havaca'. Among the types of 'Pozegaca' there were no differences in terms of fruit weight. The biggest stone weight had 'Havaca' (1.21 g), and the lowest one had genotype 'Sisaca' (0.84 g). Due to this characteristic, there were differences among the types of 'Pozegaca'. Genotype ‘Pozegaca’, from locality Glavaticevo had the highest yield of fruit (95.3%), whereas the biggest genotype ‘Havaca’ had the lowest yield (93.67%). Among the types of ‘Pozegaca’, there were differences between localities in terms of the fruit yield.

Cherry cultivation has a long tradition in Bosnia and Herzegovina mainly due to favorable climatic conditions for cherry growing in this region. However, current cherry production is insufficient because of prevailing old cultivars and rootstocks. Modern intensive production of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) requires planting of high quality cultivars on dwarfing rootstocks planted in high density orchards. Cherry rootstock breeding programs worldwide require data on tolerance and performance of their rootstocks in different climatic conditions. Therefore, the influence of two cherry rootstocks ('Gisela 5 and 'Santa Lucia 64') on phenological events (blooming), growth and pomological properties of two cherry cultivars ('Stella' and 'Burlat') planted in modern orchard (managed according to standard commercial practice for integrated fruit production), near Sarajevo was evaluated. The trees grafted on 'Gisela 5' rootstocks were planted in 2004 and on 'Santa Lucia 64' in 2005. All tress were trained in a spindle system and the analyzed parameters were monitored in 2010. Rootstocks greatly influenced blooming time, growth and fruit characteristics of both investigated cultivars. The weaker rootstock was 'Gisela 5', which stimulated earlier blooming and caused statistically significant better fruit characteristics (fruit size, % flesh of fruit as well as total soluble solids content in fruit). The results of the analysis showed that both cherry cultivars reached better fruit quality on 'Gisela 5'. 'Stella' had better fruit quality than 'Burlat'. 'Santa Lucia 64' proved a better rootstock for 'Burlat' than for 'Stella'.