Articles
Changes in fruit quality during maturation of two European plum cultivars
Article number
1449_42
Pages
313 – 320
Language
English
Abstract
The maturity stage at harvest is one of the main determinants of fruit quality.
In order to determine the optimal harvest time of plum fruits for fresh consumption, it is important to highlight the quality changes that occur during maturation and ripening.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the physical, chemical, antioxidant and sensory properties of the fruits during maturation of two European plum cultivars, worldwide cultivated ‘Stanley’ and the new late-ripening plum cultivar ‘Petra’, released at the Fruit Research Institute, Čačak.
Fruits of ‘Stanley’ were harvested four times during the 21-day period, while three harvests were made seven days apart for ‘Petra’. Although similar patterns of change in some important quality parameters were observed in both cultivars (i.e., fruit firmness and total acidity decreased significantly, soluble solids content increased as well as content of total sugars, inverted sugars, and sucrose), almost all examined physical attributes (fruit weight, stone weight, dimensions of fruit, shape index, stalk length, force of stalk detachment from fruit) changed differently among the cultivars studied during ripening.
The content of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity slightly decreased in ‘Petra’ during maturation, while no clear trend was observed in ‘Stanley’. Sensory analysis included evaluation of appearance, aroma, taste and consistency of the plum fruits and the results showed that the later harvested fruits of both cultivars had better taste and aroma.
Quality changes during maturation of ‘Stanley’ plum were marked and consequently the fruit reached eating quality at the last two harvests.
On the other hand, the overall quality of ‘Petra’ fruit was more consistent during the studied period, indicating that that it has potential to supply the local market with fruit of uniform quality regardless of harvest time.
In order to determine the optimal harvest time of plum fruits for fresh consumption, it is important to highlight the quality changes that occur during maturation and ripening.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the physical, chemical, antioxidant and sensory properties of the fruits during maturation of two European plum cultivars, worldwide cultivated ‘Stanley’ and the new late-ripening plum cultivar ‘Petra’, released at the Fruit Research Institute, Čačak.
Fruits of ‘Stanley’ were harvested four times during the 21-day period, while three harvests were made seven days apart for ‘Petra’. Although similar patterns of change in some important quality parameters were observed in both cultivars (i.e., fruit firmness and total acidity decreased significantly, soluble solids content increased as well as content of total sugars, inverted sugars, and sucrose), almost all examined physical attributes (fruit weight, stone weight, dimensions of fruit, shape index, stalk length, force of stalk detachment from fruit) changed differently among the cultivars studied during ripening.
The content of total phenolic compounds and antioxidant capacity slightly decreased in ‘Petra’ during maturation, while no clear trend was observed in ‘Stanley’. Sensory analysis included evaluation of appearance, aroma, taste and consistency of the plum fruits and the results showed that the later harvested fruits of both cultivars had better taste and aroma.
Quality changes during maturation of ‘Stanley’ plum were marked and consequently the fruit reached eating quality at the last two harvests.
On the other hand, the overall quality of ‘Petra’ fruit was more consistent during the studied period, indicating that that it has potential to supply the local market with fruit of uniform quality regardless of harvest time.
Publication
Authors
A. Korićanac, D. Milatović, B. Popović, O. Mitrović, I. Gliić, N. Miloević
Keywords
Prunus domestica, harvest time, firmness, sensory evaluation, total phenolic content, antioxidant capacity
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