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1 Nisan 2012 Pazar

Aronia Berry Juice Health Benefits

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INTRODUCTION

Pucker up and prepare to experience the benefits of the tart Aronia Berry. The term "super food" gets used a lot, but when it comes to these berries and their juice health benefits, the term is well-deserved. These berries are a genuine miracle of nature. Aronia is a low-maintenance and nearly a pest-free crop. It is easy to grow the aronia plant organically because it does not need to be protected against pathogens, pest, and diseases, as a result the fruit does not contain traces of pesticides.

They are 3 times healthier than blueberries. The unique taste of the berry is one of life's unique experiences. Their high antioxidant levels, and high tannin levels make these berries tart. The berries are often made into juice mixed with other juice or made into jelly or other products. Another juice or sweetener is often added to reduce the tart taste

THIS JUICE IS AN ANTIOXIDANT LEADER

First the berry juice is a leading source of antioxidants. Antioxidants as you probably know are composed of a variety of compounds this includes vitamins, enzymes, bio-flavonoids, and peroxidases. Antioxidants break down the free radical molecule neutralizing it. Free radicals formed in your body essentially damage the cells leading to a host of negative effects, including making you age faster and rendering you less able to fight off diseases.

Drinking this juice supplies your body with free radical eliminating compounds that helps get rid of many of them. This helps you slow the process of aging and fend off disease. This claim it is backed up by solid science.

ESSENTIAL ACIDS OFFER DIFFERENT ARONIA BERRY JUICE HEALTH BENEFITS

Constituents within the berry include tannic acid, folic acid, quinic acid, phenolic acids, catechins, ascorbic acid,known as vitamin Cas well as Vitamins B6, B12, and E, minerals, resveratrol, hesperidin and rutin.

The primary organic acids in the berries are: tartaric, natural polyphenolic compounds, antioxidants, malic, and citric. This produces a low pH of 3.3-3.8 inside berries. This in turn hinders bacterial invasion and facilitates transport and storage of aronia berries.

Aronia berry juice is high in tannic acid, or tannins, which is well-known to be an anti-inflammatory agent. The tannins in the berry is what gives aronia berries their astringent taste that most people find objectionable. Aronia berry juice is reported to ease intestinal inflammation, and also inflammation of the joints, or even the skin.

Inflammation causes blood levels of certain proteins to be elevated. Inflammation causes the disruption of normal brain molecules. Inflammatory proteins are thought to possibly be connected to the development of Alzheimer's disease.

Let's talk about cancer one of the most dreaded diseases. It is well-known that anyone can get cancer, and so it only makes sense to take any precautions you can to eat and drink as much as practical of the healthy foods which do the most to give you the greatest chance of preventing the start of cancer. The juice fends off cancer in a variety of ways.

It also helps prevent cancer of the stomach and colon because it contains pectin, which is a soluble form of fiber. Aronia berry has a substantial amount of pectin. Pectin is a substance that is needed to thicken jams. It can be added to other fruits that are low in pectin when making jams. Pectin bonds to cholesterol in the stomach and intestine slowing glucose absorption by trapping carbohydrates. The consumption of pectin has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels.

EYE PROTECTION AND ARONIA BERRIES

Amazingly, aronia juice offers some protection for the agonizing condition of macular degeneration of the eyes. This is something for which there is no cure, and which causes blindness. A study found that those who drink high amounts of fruit juices, especially antioxidant rich juices like aronia berry and blueberry juice, have far less chance of developing macular generation as they grow older.

ARONIA BERRIES AS A MEMORY AGENT

Another one of thehealth benefits of the juice is memory improvement. Aronia berries and blueberries have been shown to not only increase brain function, but specifically memory. This is creating excitement among the scientific community because it suggests high aronia berry or blueberry/juice diets can play a role in preventing or staving off Alzheimer's disease. Dark purple berries are reported to promote health and anti-aging. The dark purple pigmentation with their high level of antioxidants called anthocyanins and have been reported to promote mental focus, protect the heart and vision, and prevent free-radical damage or oxidative stress.

GROW YOUR OWN

Why not think about adding a few aronia plants? If you want to become more self-sufficient you might want to think about planting some low maintenance Aronia shrubs. Purchase your Aronia berry plants from a reputable farm and nursery. The berries are produced on easy to grow shrubs that have low maintenance and add beauty to your landscape. Nero aronia plants grow about 3 to 4 feet tall and can make a nice hedge as well as being a source of fruit. A few plants could produce all the berries you need for the year. You can freeze those you do not use during the harvest time and have them throughout the year. You could also make juice and freeze it for use later.

SUMMARY

In my view, aronia is one of the best investments in your health. For less than the price of a cup of coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, McCafé at McDonald's or Starbucks you can have an anti-inflammatory, anti-heart disease, anti-cancer, anti-Alzheimer's, anti-diabetes, eye protection, and memory enhancing aronia berry drink that's delicious and healthful. Make some juice from your own home-grown plants and keep it in the refrigerator or freezer for daily use.

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31 Mart 2012 Cumartesi

Aronia Planting Guide Part VI - Pruning, Pest, Landscaping, Harvesting, and Yields

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Pruning

After establishment, the oldest stems should be pruned to ground in late dormant season. Restrict bush height & increase bushiness by cutting back upright stems.

After berries have dropped or been harvested prune to shape the plant. Pruning the Aronia plants while the plants are young will also encourage branching. The best time to prune is in the late winter or spring before growth starts. By pruning in the early spring just before growth starts. This means there is only a short time before new growth begins and for the wound sealing process to take place. It does not seriously harm plants in the long run to cut plants back so that they may produce a dense growth of new shoots This is called "pollarding". As the plants grow larger prune to thin the plant so all parts of the plant receive sunlight.

Pest

Japanese beetles and other insect pests generally will leave the aronia plants alone. Blueberry Croft farm and nursery has not had problems with Japanese beetles.

For long-term pest management, a good defense against Japanese beetle involves improving the soil in your property so that the beneficial micro organisms that live there are active and numerous. The micro organisms eat Japanese beetle eggs under the grass in around plant roots. Mulching and using aerated compost tea made using worm casting is a good approach to improving your soil and the number of beneficial micro organisms in the soil.

Aronia berries are more resistant to microbial invasion than other fruits.

Aronia berries will provide food for deer; rabbits and songbirds in the fall after the berries are fully ripe if left unpicked. Before they are fully ripe they are so bitter that songbirds will avoid them.

In summary the major pest are as follows

DeerRabbitsSongbirds (in the fall after fruit is ripe)Japanese beetles (usually not a problem)A few maggots from Spotted Wing Drosphila have found in a few berries in some sites. A possible solution is to try putting some traps with molasses, brewer's yeast, etc to try to lower populations around Aronia and other berry plants.

Landscaping

The practice of growing aronia as a landscape plant is increasing. One of the reasons is because it can handle both wet and dry soil in addition to being a very ornamental plant. It is attractive in each season and not effected by most diseases and pests. These are outstanding landscape plants. They have attractive white flowers in the spring and beautiful glossy green leaves all summer long. The dark berries in the fall at the end of the year and are a plus by providing healthy fruit.

Their ability to withstand wet situations makes aronia plants appropriate for growing along the edges of ponds, streams or other similar conditions. Aronia works well as a riverbank stabilizer, or in fields in the path of water runs to control erosion or in any large-scale planting in which a growing mass is needed. Aronia plants are especially useful in roadside ditches or a moist low tract of land that is a natural landscape feature or a human-created one. Consider using the cultivar Nero if you enjoy seeing heavy production of larger and longer lasting black fruits on a more compact plant 3 to 4 feet tall. If youare planning to have a productive plantation with high-quality fruit Nero or the taller growing Viking plants are good choices.

Harvesting

For more than 1/2 to 1 acre mechanical harvesting is more efficient, faster and less costly than hand harvesting.

Aronia fruit stay good for a relative long period of time and can be stored unharmed in the containers even for a few days. "This means they can also be shipped to customers' right after picking without refrigeration. This is a significant opportunity and benefit because it also makes it possible to deliver the fruit harvested from a large area to the processing facility all at the same time.

The processing of fresh aronia is not hard to accomplish. Although the fruit is soft their shock-resistance allows them to be stored for a longer time than other more fragile berries.

Fruit Yields

The second year after planting 2-year-old nursery aronia plants in the field they usually are reported to produce about 2 pound of fruit per plant. The third year after planting in the field they are reported to produce about 10 pounds of fruit per plant. The four to fifth year after planting they are reported to yields about 20 pounds of fruit per plant. Fruit production is reported to be as high as 35 pounds per mature plant. In terms of the growth of aronia plants the saying is "First they sleep, then they creep and then they leap".

At 20 pounds per plant, 1000 plants per acre would be expected to produce 20,000 pounds of berries.

Purchase your pesticide free aronia and blueberries from (Blueberry Croft Farm and Nursery). We understand both the theory and practical applications of growing aronia and blueberries. The farm is a reputable source for quality aronia and blueberry plants. Over 30 varieties of blueberries are grown and sold. Viking aronia plants are available for sale. Purchase your plants and get more information from http://www.blueberrycroft.com/. Get free S/H on orders of $75+. © 2011 May be reproduced in entirety with live link

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28 Mart 2012 Çarşamba

Aronia Planting Guide Part III - Planting Methods, When to Plant, Plant Spacing and Row Spacing

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Planting ideas

With poor soils it is recommended to prepare planting holes for each plant by adding composted manure, composed leaves, peat moss, pine bark fines or other compost into the planting hole.

When planting gently remove the plant from its container, keeping the root ball intact. Then carefully loosen the roots in the potting soil and around bottom and edges of root ball so the roots are free to grow out into the surrounding soil.

Planting Methods

Shovel
Bulb planter
Auger (a power auger making a 12 to 14 inch hole that can be filled with compost or other material can help where the soil is poor.)
Tree planter (on the right:tree planter in action) Of these methods the tree planter has been shown to be the fastest and easiest in soil with good drainage. Good drainage is essential so the drainage of the soil needs to be checked before planting. Poor drainage is one of the primary problems when growing plants. In soil with poor drainage raised beds should be used.
Raised bed machine. Where you have clay soil with poor drainage it is necessary to use raised beds to obtain needed drainage so the plant roots do not stand in the water. If the roots of the plant are in standing water they will drown and the plant will die. At some farms and nurseries raised beds are used because the soil is clay with poor drainage.

When to Plant

If you have irrigation and mulch you can really plant potted plants any time of year the ground isn't frozen.

However Ideal times to plant are: Early Spring and Early Fall

Irrigation is almost essential in establishing plants. (An exception may sometimes be in the late fall or early spring planting). Late fall is often a good time to plant because it gives the plants time to establish strong roots during the fall, winter and spring before the plants must endure the hot weather in the summer.

Plant Spacing and Row Spacing

Commercial Production Planting

Historically, commercial plantings of aronia were done in a line of closely spaced shrubs, leaving enough room to drive a tractor and equipment in between the rows of mature plants.

Row Spacing 12 to 15 ftPlant Spacing 24 to 36 inches

About 1070 plants per acre can be grown with a spacing of 3 feet between plants and 12 feet between rows. This practice is commonly used in Europe for machine harvesting.

Note: When determining the row width, you should measure the width of the mowing and hay making equipment to be certain it is suited to work in the row of that width when plants are mature.

For more than one acre mechanical harvesting is less costly than hand harvesting.

One should keep in mind that closer spacing of plants within the rows for machine harvesting will double the amount of fruit production for the first few years and more than make up for the higher cost of planting the plants more densely.

Hand Planting

This method can work if you plan to harvest small acreage by hand, or use a self-propelled harvester requiring less row width.

Row Spacing 10 ftPlant Spacing 4-6 ft

You should not plan on hand harvesting if you plant more than 1 acre. For more than one acre mechanical harvesting is more efficient and less costly than hand harvesting.

One form of hand harvesting is to let groups from organizations such as youth groups to harvest berries to raise money. Nonprofit groups can pick aronia berries on the farm to raise money for their worthy causes.

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21 Mart 2012 Çarşamba

Aronia Planting Guide Part V - Drip Irrigation, Precipitation

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Irrigate Efficiently Using Drip Irrigation

The annual demand by aronia plants for water is reported to be 32 inches of rain or more spread evenly throughout the year. (I must say this seems a little low to me).

An efficient irrigation system may be a necessary requirement. The sprinkler is generally an inefficient system. Sprinklers can deliver a large amount of water in a short period but at the same time large amounts of moisture is lost due to evaporation. Sprinklers however may be the ideal choice for watering when establishing alfalfa. Alfalfa is relatively drought tolerant, but its growth does depend on the availability of soil water. If there is little or no irrigation water, annual yields will be low.

Sprinkling can help serve as frost/freeze protection for vineyards during bud break and early shoot development in an occasional early spring frost to save a crop but is generally not cost-effective.

The cost of materials, installation, and development of a pond or other water resource generally make it not cost-effective. In addition aronia plants bloom late in the spring usually avoiding the threat of frost so the need for spraying is minimal.

Drip irrigators and soaker hoses are able to deliver a low volume of water over a long period using individual emitters directly at the base of the plant, losing little water to evaporation or runoff. They work well for irrigating aronia plants. Drip irrigation can maintain good moisture levels in the root zone of the plant.

Precipitation

In Southern Wisconsin at an aronia berry farm the average annual precipitation is 36.5 inches. This amount compared to an average of 51.9 inches at the aronia berry farm in central Kentucky is much lower... The average annual precipitation is 32.6 inches in Missouri Valley, Iowa at an aronia Farm. The annual demand for water by aronia plants is said to be 32 or more inches of rains spread evenly throughout the year. Thus the locations mentioned, should in most seasons have sufficient rain for the plants. However drip irrigation should still be provided. This is particularly true in the hot dry summer months when fruit is actively developing. Long periods of hot dry windy weather can affect the yield and the quality of fruit. Aronia plants need regular irrigation to grow well depending on the rainfall, typically every week or two during the growing season.

Aronia shrubs are some of the best at surviving well in very wet winter soils, often caused by slow drainage or continual seepage, and dry summer soils.Because of its root system structure, aronia is successfully grown in soils with low- and high-level ground waters.

In times of drought, the use of gray water can help ease water usage for watering plants. Gray water should be free from food scraps, oils and bleach.

Costs of drip irrigation

A drip irrigation system typically cost about $1000 to $2500/acre in 2012 not including a water source.

Benefits of drip irrigation

The drip irrigation system is usually needed particularly for the hot dry months of July and Aug. Some benefits of drip irrigation include: Drip irrigation benefits include the following.

It reduces water requirements compared to spraying. Drip irrigation can exceed 90 percent efficiency whereas sprinkler systems are generally 50 to 70 percent efficient.It increases plant growthIt causes new canes to developIt increases berry sizeIt increases fruit productionIt increases harvest window

Expected yields

One grower reports that he was averaging 2 lbs/plant in 2 years with the help of a drip system. This is in accordance with other reports. The yield should increase every year thereafter. In the third year a yield of 10 lbs per plant could be expected. In the 4th and 5th year a yield of about 20 lbs per plant can be reached.

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Aronia: Native Fruit Crop for the United States

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Introduction

An old native fruit crop after being ignored for years is now being grown in the United States for its health giving qualities. It is also suitable for organic fruit production. The Black Aronia which it is often referred as chokeberry is a U.S. native plant that has become widely grown for fruit production in Eastern Europe. However it is now being recognized as an important health food in the United States. The aronia berry industry is a young developing market in the United States. The Aronia berry is about the size and color of a blueberry and comes in clusters of about 8 to 15. For this reason they are easy to pick. A mature Viking or Nero aronia plant (about 5 to 6 years) can yield over 20 lbs. They start fruiting (averaging 2 to 4 lbs of fruit per plant) within two growing seasons after planting.

A planting distance of 2.5 to 3 ft between aronia plants is suggested. This allows plants to sucker and fill in the space to form a hedgerow.. Thinning of the older canes is recommended after the plants are 3 to 5 years old. Cutting the plants down to about 3 foot height will invigorate the plant. If bushes are not thinned, they will grow too dense resulting in poor light exposure which leads to reduced productivity. Fruit is usually ripe in late August or mid September and ready to harvest. At harvest the fruit are usually at 19 to 21 Brix. Brix is the Percentage soluble solidsby weight. A high percent of soluble solids, high Brix value, is desirable. Bird damage is usually not a major problem in commercial plantings as the fruit is too bitter until they are ripe and even than they have an astringent taste. The plant is well adapted to its native home in zones 3 to 7 of North America and is suitable for growing commercially as an organically grown fruit crop. The commercial use of aronia is primarily to make juice. Either steam extraction or pressing the juice out with an apple cider press are effective methods. Freezing the berries first, before steam extraction or pressing them in an apple cider pres releases more juice.

Aronia berries are very high in very important phenolic acids, procyanidins, and anthocyanins. When compared to other super healthy foods, aroniaberries stand out as the superior choice..

ORAC Values

Aronia fruits have high concentrations of flavonoids causing great interest in them because they are potent antioxidants. Aronia has a higher Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) than other domestic foods based on the reported results of foods for antioxidantactivity in 2010.

The total ORAC score for raw Aronia fruit was over 16,000 µmol TE/100g. TE/100g is (micromoles Trolox Equivalents per 100 grams of fruit. These are the standard units for this ORAC test). Blueberries have ORAC score of a little over 4,600 µmol TE/100g. Raw Açai are reported to have a total ORAC value of only 5,500 µmol TE/100g which is far lower than the raw Aronia ORAC score. Acai a fruit imported from South America is a berry that has been in the headlines. Acai is one of the leading marketed antioxident fruits but its ORAC is low compared to Aronia. Research shows Aronia has a higher ORAC than any other domestically grown and consumed berries in the USA.

Benefits of the Aronia Berry

It's antimicrobial properties promotes a healthy urinary tractHas anti-inflammatory properties to help prevent and relieve arthritic symptomsFights bacteria and viruses, such as colds and the fluStrengthens memoryAids digestionHelps the body produce good cholesterol and lower "bad" cholesterolProvides the body with essential oilsPossible aid in the management of diabetes.It has colon cancer-fighting propertiesAronia is high in fiber and contain pigments (anthocyanins) which can help prevent cancer.Has the highest antioxidant capacity of any domestic food reported to dateIncreases neurological, motor and cognitive functions.May help to prevent neurological disorders such as dementiaImprove nighttime visual acuity and prevent and even reverse macular degenerationHelp fight against heart disease and other cardiovascular problems, promote cardiovascular healthRich in vitamin B2, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin E, and Folic acid.It may slow the effects of aging

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Aronia Black Chokeberry Provides Health and Medical Benefits

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Introduction

The health benefits of black aronia berry have caused renewed interest in them as a commercial super health food. The antioxidant properties of these black berries have led to research into their use as foods to contribute to prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress, such as certain cancers, cardiovascular diseases and chronic inflammations.

Aronia Berry Products

Raw black aronia berry fruits are astringent, so the fruits are generally eaten in processed form. The berries can be canned or made into juice which can be used to make drinks and jelly. The extracts can also be used as natural colorants. As a juice product, these black berries (more commonly called chokeberry) is usually blended with other juices such as apple, black currant, cranberry and grape. It has been grown commercially in Russia since the 1940s, where it is used in juice products (mixed with apple juice), wine, and other products. It has been commercially grown in Europe in 1000s of acres where the aronia berries are used to make juice, alcoholic beverages, jams and jellies, and used as a food colorant.

In response to current worldwide human health concerns, new useful foods and healthy food products are being developed. Aronia berries are among the super fruit being processed into nectars and purees for their health benefits. It has been found that the ascorbic acid and anthocyanin levels dropped considerably during processing and also during subsequent storage, but that the new products still retained a high level of the biologically active substances found in fresh berries. Pressing the berries without heating them results in higher levels of biologically active substances. Producing aronia enriched lemon juice as a new beverage with antioxidant properties is one possible drink.

Viking and Nero are the two most popular aronia plants grown for fruit production. They were developed in Europe and are starting to become popular in the United States.

Aronia Berry Qualities

Generally, black aronia berries are high in soluble solids (12 - 20%), anthocyanins (560 - 1050 milligrams/100 grams fresh weight), have a pH of 3.3 - 3.7, and amount of alkali required to neutralize the acidic components is 0.7 - 1.2%. (This is called titratable acidity).

Anthocyanins: The pigments that cause these black berries to appear black are phenolics, primarily anthocyanins. These pigments produced mainly in the skin protect the berry pulp and seeds from exposure to ultraviolet radiation. This purple pigment is the shade that filters intense sunlight. Total anthocyanin levels in black the aronia berry have been reported to be as high as 1480 mg/100 g fresh berries. This level is among the highest measured in plants grown in North America. In addition to shielding the berries from the UV from sunlight, anthocyanins contribute to the berries' astringent taste. And, anthocyanins are antioxidants and serve to combat stress in the berries during metabolic processes. There have been no reports of side effects of eating aronia berries other than providing health benefits.

Depending on growing conditions the fruit quality can vary from one year to the next, with the anthocyanin content can differ widely from a poor production year to a good year. The anthocyanin content can increase by as much as 50% with a low fertilizer application compared to medium higher fertilizer rates.

ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) is a test that measures antioxidant strength of foods. Aronia berry is a super foods-list topper. Black aronia berry produces one of the highest ORAC values recorded, 16,062 micromoles per 100 g fresh fruit, compared to values for blueberries (highbush) which have a total ORAC score of 6,552. Acai is a berry that has been in the news, but research reveals that it takes a secondary position to Aronia berry. Acai have a total ORAC score of 5,500 ORAC and gooseberry has an ORAC score of 3277 and elderberry has a score of 14,697.

Summary

The antioxidant properties of black aronia berry fruits have stimulated research into their use as foods that contribute to prevention of diseases caused by oxidative stress, such as certain cancers, cardiovascular diseases and chronic inflammations.

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