Changes in organic acid and sugars at ripening and after storage of three local plums

Today there is a growing interest in recovering traditional or wild species and know their characteristics, biology and possible applications.
In this work we have studied three local plum cultivars, located in southeastern Spain and identified by the names of ‘Calasparreña’, ‘Miguera Amarilla Redonda’ and ‘Sanjuanera’, respectively.
We analyzed the content of sugars and organic acids in these fruits after harvest and after storage at 5°C ± 4 days at 20°C. The major sugars of ‘Sanjuanera’ were glucose and fructose, while this was sucrose in ‘Miguera Amarilla Redonda’, and in ‘Calasparreña’ the highest level achieved were of sucrose and sorbitol.
At commercial ripening stage sugar content was higher in this last cultivar.
Raffinose, arabinose and mannose were also detected, but in low concentration.
The major organic acids were malic and succinic.
Malic acid was the prominent organic acid in ‘Sanjuanera’, while succinic acid was the major acid in ‘Calasparreña’. The highest content of organic acids was shown by ‘Miguera Amarilla Redonda’, while the lowest one corresponded to ‘Calasparreña’. This paper aims to provide information about the potential uses of these fruits and to contemplate their possible inclusion in programs for economic development and the improvement of living conditions in rural areas.
The recuperation of the growth of these cultivars would contribute to maintaining the biodiversity and the agricultural ecosystems.

VIII International Postharvest Symposium: Enhancing Supply Chain and Consumer Benefits – Ethical and Technological Issues

M.C. Martínez-Madrid, E. López-Gómez, M.T. Pretel, P. Sánchez-Bel, I. Egea, M.F. García-Legaz

local fruit, glucose, fructose, sucrose, sorbitol

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2018.1194.146