Articles
Determination of optimal maturity indices for selected South African golden kiwifruit cultivars
Article number
1349_11
Pages
73 – 82
Language
English
Abstract
Kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis) exhibits little to no visible evidence of physical quality attributes considered perfect indicators of fruit developmental stage of which maturity can be measured.
Maturity indexing is a perfect tool for determining the optimum picking time and its effect on kiwifruit quality during postharvest storage.
Therefore, this study was conducted to develop a protocol for maturity indexing for the selected golden kiwifruits grown under South African conditions.
The golden kiwifruit cultivars (Skelton and Soreli) were harvested from Mpumalanga (South Africa). An early harvest was conducted, and samples were collected weekly for 9 consecutive weeks (H1-H9) until the anticipated harvest date.
Fruit were stored at 0°C for 2 months, and after storage, fruits were left for 7 days for shelf life study.
The experimental design used in the study was a randomized complete design (RCD). Fruit were sampled at harvest, after cold storage, and end of shelf life for firmness, dry matter (DM), soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and postharvest performance.
The results showed a significant interaction (p<0.001) difference between cultivars and maturity stages.
DM and SSC increased with the maturity stage while firmness decreased, and all the parameters values differed with each cultivar.
The postharvest performance of the cultivars showed that early harvested fruits were susceptible to low temperature and showed signs of shrivelling.
The results indicate that harvest maturity influences the parameters, and they differ with each cultivar.
Maturity indexing is a perfect tool for determining the optimum picking time and its effect on kiwifruit quality during postharvest storage.
Therefore, this study was conducted to develop a protocol for maturity indexing for the selected golden kiwifruits grown under South African conditions.
The golden kiwifruit cultivars (Skelton and Soreli) were harvested from Mpumalanga (South Africa). An early harvest was conducted, and samples were collected weekly for 9 consecutive weeks (H1-H9) until the anticipated harvest date.
Fruit were stored at 0°C for 2 months, and after storage, fruits were left for 7 days for shelf life study.
The experimental design used in the study was a randomized complete design (RCD). Fruit were sampled at harvest, after cold storage, and end of shelf life for firmness, dry matter (DM), soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and postharvest performance.
The results showed a significant interaction (p<0.001) difference between cultivars and maturity stages.
DM and SSC increased with the maturity stage while firmness decreased, and all the parameters values differed with each cultivar.
The postharvest performance of the cultivars showed that early harvested fruits were susceptible to low temperature and showed signs of shrivelling.
The results indicate that harvest maturity influences the parameters, and they differ with each cultivar.
Authors
N. Mahlaba, S.Z. Tesfay, M. Dodd, L.S. Magwaza, A. Mditshwa, N.Z. Ngobese, F. Kruger
Keywords
kiwifruits, maturity index, postharvest, firmness, soluble solids content, dry matter
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