Articles
Fruit quality attributes of a new Spanish pomegranate cultivar at harvest and during cold storage
Article number
1254_41
Pages
275 – 282
Language
English
Abstract
A new hybrid pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivar, named provisionally as H628, was obtained in the Elche Agricultural Experiment Station (Alicante, Spain) by crossbreeding Mollar de Elche and Wonderful cultivars.
Physico-chemical, sensory and nutritional quality of these three cultivars were evaluated at harvest and after two storage periods of 8 and 16 weeks at 5°C followed by 1 week at 20°C simulating shelf life.
Weight loss increased with storage time and no differences were observed among cultivars.
At harvest, the values of soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and maturity index of the new hybrid were between those of Mollar de Elche and Wonderful. However, no differences were observed between the new hybrid and Mollar de Elche during storage.
Sensory quality evaluation by trained panelists showed no significant differences between the new cultivar and Mollar de Elche, which was better evaluated than Wonderful. On the other hand, rind color of H628 pomegranates was similar to that of Wonderful, with higher a* (red) and lower b* (yellow) values than those of Mollar de Elche. Values of L*, a* and b* of the juice of H628 pomegranates were in a range between those of the other two cultivars.
Similarly, anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were higher in Wonderful than in H628 pomegranates, although total anthocyanin and phenolic contents were five and two times higher, respectively, in the latter than in Mollar de Elche pomegranates.
For all cultivars, the most abundant anthocyanin at harvest and during cold storage was cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside.
In general, irrespective of the cultivar, a slight decrease was observed at the end of the storage period for total anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity, but not for total phenolic content.
Overall, the new hybrid cultivar H628 showed excellent sensory characteristics with intense peel red coloration and high nutritional quality.
Physico-chemical, sensory and nutritional quality of these three cultivars were evaluated at harvest and after two storage periods of 8 and 16 weeks at 5°C followed by 1 week at 20°C simulating shelf life.
Weight loss increased with storage time and no differences were observed among cultivars.
At harvest, the values of soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and maturity index of the new hybrid were between those of Mollar de Elche and Wonderful. However, no differences were observed between the new hybrid and Mollar de Elche during storage.
Sensory quality evaluation by trained panelists showed no significant differences between the new cultivar and Mollar de Elche, which was better evaluated than Wonderful. On the other hand, rind color of H628 pomegranates was similar to that of Wonderful, with higher a* (red) and lower b* (yellow) values than those of Mollar de Elche. Values of L*, a* and b* of the juice of H628 pomegranates were in a range between those of the other two cultivars.
Similarly, anthocyanin content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity were higher in Wonderful than in H628 pomegranates, although total anthocyanin and phenolic contents were five and two times higher, respectively, in the latter than in Mollar de Elche pomegranates.
For all cultivars, the most abundant anthocyanin at harvest and during cold storage was cyanidin 3,5-diglucoside.
In general, irrespective of the cultivar, a slight decrease was observed at the end of the storage period for total anthocyanin content and antioxidant activity, but not for total phenolic content.
Overall, the new hybrid cultivar H628 showed excellent sensory characteristics with intense peel red coloration and high nutritional quality.
Authors
D. Villamón, L. Palou, J. Bartual, V. Taberner, B. de la Fuente, M.B. Pérez-Gago
Keywords
‘H628’, ‘Rugalate’, ‘Mollar de Elche’, ‘Wonderful’, hybridization, fruit color, sensory, nutritional quality
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