Introduction. Physalis has been known for a long time in Egypt. Among unexploited tropical fruits, Physalis is a very promising fruit. Recently, the economic importance of Physalis has risen, due to its high acceptance for local consumption, achieving great success in the African, Latin American and European markets. One of the challenges of recent years has been to participate in the development of Physalis as a commercial crop of economic utility. In order to understand the nutraceutical and medicinal characteristics of Physalis fruits cultivated in Egypt, the biochemical composition of the raw Physalis pubescens juice was determined. Materials and methods. Whole fresh fruits of Physalis pubescens from Egypt were preserved at –20 °C for the duration of the experiment. The juice was extracted from Physalis fruits by using a fruit pulper then filtered on cheesecloth to separate seeds and skins. Contents of oil, fatty acids, proteins, amino acids, sugars and minerals of the juice were analyzed, and were compared and discussed in relation to the biochemical composition of other fruits and vegetable oils. Results. Yield of the juice was high (64%) and it is a rich source of minerals such as potassium (11.32 g·100 g–1 dm), phosphorus (5.55 g·100 g–1 dm), zinc (0.02 g·100 g–1 dm) and boron (0.01 g·100 g–1 dm), polyphenols (76.6 mg·100 mL–1) and carotenoids (70 µg·mL–1). It contained good amounts of vitamin C (38.77 mg·100 mL–1) and it could be a good potential source of essential amino acids such as isoleucine, valine and tryptophan [(4.2, 3.9 and 3.9) g·100 g–1 protein], whose amounts were higher than those recommended by the FAO / WHO / UNU. Additionally, it contains a low amount of oil (1.1 g·100 g–1 dm). Conclusion. Physalis juice should attract great interest because of its composition. Its potential nutraceutical quality could participate in the development of Physalis as a commercial crop. Certain molecules such as antimicrobial molecules and bioactive withanolides, which have the famous ethnomedical and medical effects of Physalis juice, still have to be studied.

Introduction. Higher allocation of land in favour of fruits is vital to raise the farm income and productivity, but such an opportunity is also complemented with higher risk and uncertainty. Economic expectation assumes a great role, while such decisions have an impact on the welfare of farmers in terms of their income and risk. In this paper, we examined the nature of price expectations, their relationship with other economic factors, and analysed the importance of price and income expectations of the fruit (apple) growers on their land allocation decisions. Materials and methods. In this paper, the elicitation technique was used to obtain both price and income expectations of apple growers. The price expectations were compared with the actual price of apple over the last three years and then linked with farmers' input-use propensities. A regression method was used to identify the role of expectations in the decision of land allocation in favour of apple crops. Results and conclusion. Our results showed that better price expectation improves the input-use (generally labour) propensities. However, for allocation of the inelastic factor of production, i.e., land, in favour of a fruit crop, it is the income expectations that explain farmers’ decisions. Farmers’ capacity to generate higher productivity along with the better market prospects together explain their decision regarding allocating land to high value fruit crops.