Articles
Agronomic evaluation and fruit quality of fig tree cultivar collection in the Jerte Valley (Spain)
Article number
1310_27
Pages
179 – 184
Language
English
Abstract
The fig tree (Ficus carica L.) is a crop with a long tradition in the Mediterranean area.
Extremadura, located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, is the main production area in Spain with more than 53% of the national production, mainly destined to dried fig production.
Owing to increased demand of consumers for fresh figs, a fig tree collection was established in the Jerte Valley, one of the traditional crop areas based on the Cuello Dama Blanco cultivar.
The aim of this work was to evaluate the agronomic behavior and fruit quality of 15 interesting fig tree cultivars for fresh consumption.
For this purpose, during the period 2013-2018, figs were hand-harvested at a commercially mature stage, and the cumulative yield, the trunk cross sectional area (TCSA), the productive efficiency were determined as well as individual weight, width, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and maturation index (MI). The obtained results showed that Cuello Dama Negro and Colar Elche were the most productive cultivars in fig crops with cumulative yields from entrance in production of 168.7 and 152.2 kg tree‑1 respectively, followed by San Antonio with 128.05 kg tree‑1. As regards weight and width, the highest mean values for fruit weight and width with 53.8 g and 44.8 mm were obtained from Dalmatie, followed by Banane with 53.4 g and 43.9 mm respectively.
With respect to quality traits, Calabacita showed the highest maturation index (MI), and De Rey, Cuello Dama Blanco and Picholetera` exhibited the highest total soluble solids (TSS) with 29, 26.9 and 26.8°Brix respectively.
From all studied cultivars, Cuello Dama Negro, Colar Elche, San Antonio and Banane presented great potential for fig production with suitable quality traits for fresh consumption.
Extremadura, located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, is the main production area in Spain with more than 53% of the national production, mainly destined to dried fig production.
Owing to increased demand of consumers for fresh figs, a fig tree collection was established in the Jerte Valley, one of the traditional crop areas based on the Cuello Dama Blanco cultivar.
The aim of this work was to evaluate the agronomic behavior and fruit quality of 15 interesting fig tree cultivars for fresh consumption.
For this purpose, during the period 2013-2018, figs were hand-harvested at a commercially mature stage, and the cumulative yield, the trunk cross sectional area (TCSA), the productive efficiency were determined as well as individual weight, width, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and maturation index (MI). The obtained results showed that Cuello Dama Negro and Colar Elche were the most productive cultivars in fig crops with cumulative yields from entrance in production of 168.7 and 152.2 kg tree‑1 respectively, followed by San Antonio with 128.05 kg tree‑1. As regards weight and width, the highest mean values for fruit weight and width with 53.8 g and 44.8 mm were obtained from Dalmatie, followed by Banane with 53.4 g and 43.9 mm respectively.
With respect to quality traits, Calabacita showed the highest maturation index (MI), and De Rey, Cuello Dama Blanco and Picholetera` exhibited the highest total soluble solids (TSS) with 29, 26.9 and 26.8°Brix respectively.
From all studied cultivars, Cuello Dama Negro, Colar Elche, San Antonio and Banane presented great potential for fig production with suitable quality traits for fresh consumption.
Publication
Authors
P. Bañuls, M.A. Manzano, F. Pérez-Gragera, G. Domínguez, M.J. Serradilla, A.I. Galván, M. López-Corrales
Keywords
Ficus carica L., yield, quality parameters, fresh consumption
Groups involved
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