CELL WALL CHANGES IN RIPENING PEACH FRUIT FROM CULTIVARS DIFFERING IN SOFTENING RATE

Selected changes in sugar composition for pectin extracts, hemicellulose extracts and cell wall residues are presented for fruit harvested at three firmness levels, from three peach cultivars differing in relative fruit softening rate.
Chelator soluble pectins from progressively softer fruit exhibited a decreasing galacturonic acid:rhamnose ratio, consistent with selective degradation of the homogalacturonan region during softening.
A prevalence of pectin associated sugars in more tightly bound hemicellulose extracts suggested, but did not demonstrate an association between pectin and hemicellulose for all three cultivars.
Relative fruit softening rate was negatively correlated with retention of pectin associated sugars in residues following pectin and hemicellulose extraction.

Physiological Basis of Postharvest Technologies

N.O. Maness, D. Chrz, S. Hegde, J.C. Goffreda

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.343.45