Comparison of selected qualitative characteristics of American, French and Czech apricot cultivars

Apricots (Prunus armeniaca L.) are undoubtedly one of the most attractive stone fruits grown in the Czech Republic.
This is largely due not only to the taste and smell of the fruit, but also to their attractive appearance.
Because ofmany beneficial substances in the fruit, they are an interesting supplement to the human diet.
Currently, research on natural compounds increasingly focuses on their effects on human health.
In this study, fruits of 15 apricot cultivars (‘Candela’, ‘Dovrtělova’, ‘Early Blush’, ‘Goldrich’, ‘Harcot’, ‘Laycot’, ‘Leskora’, ‘Marlen’, ‘Pinkcot’, ‘Primaya’, ‘Samourai’, ‘Spring Blush’, ‘Tomcot’, ‘Veselka’ ‘Wonder Cot’ and ‘Velkopavlovicka’ as a control), maintained in the gene-pool collection at the Faculty of Horticulture in Lednice (Czech Republic), were harvested at consumable maturity and subsequently evaluated.
Selected analytical properties (soluble solids content, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), content of phenolic compounds, flavonoids, antioxidant capacity and carotenoids) were determined.
The highest quantities of soluble solids content were found in the ‘Dovrtelova’ (19.00 °Brix) and ‘Goldrich’ (18.90 °Brix) cultivars, and the lowest in ‘Primaya’ (10.35 °Brix) and ‘Samourai’ (10.40 °Brix) cultivars.
The highest titratable acidity was measured in ‘Goldrich’ (2.64%) and ‘Early Blush’ (2.33%), while the ‘Spring Blush’ (1.33%) and ‘Wonder Cot’ (1.44%) cultivars showed the lowest values.
High value of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) was measured in ‘Veselka’ (119.40 mg kg^‑1) and ‘Harcot’ (77.58 mg kg^‑1), cultivars, whereas the lowest values weremeasured in ‘Primaya’ (4.31 mg kg^‑1) and ‘Candela’ (11.58 mg kg^‑1) cultivars.
All apricot cultivars were a good source of phenolic compounds (51.45-263.59 mg GAE 100 g^‑1), flavonoids (25.62-111.90 mg CE 100 g^‑1) and antioxidant capacity (441.81-2335.68 mg TE kg^‑1). The highest content of carotenoids was measured in ‘Harcot’ (44.19 mg kg^‑1) and ‘Velkopavlovicka’ (27.52 mg kg^‑1) cultivars, while the lowest were measured in ‘Pinkcot’ (5.16 mg kg^‑1) and ‘Primaya’ (5.49 mg kg^‑1) cultivars.
Considering the assessed qualitative parameters, the North American apricot cultivars stand out over both the Czech and French cultivars.

XVII International Symposium on Apricot Breeding and Culture

M. Göttingerová, T. Nečas

apricots, soluble solids content, titratableacidity, vitamin C, carotenoids, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, antioxidant capacity

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1290.29