Effect of Maturity Indices on Growth and Quality of High Value Vegetables

Abstract

The study took place at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute's Olericulture Division's research farm from March 2021 to February 2022 (BARI). In a protected net house, we investigated the impact of five different types of vegetables on various maturation stages, including tomato, broccoli, sweet pepper, cucumber, and netted melon. Vegetables cultivated under protected conditions in a transparent poly-film net house can improve quality, maturity, fruit size, and yield. When fruits and vegetables are picked before they are fully mature, they may stay green for longer, but they may not ripen to a satisfactory color and flavor, resulting in a loss of consumer confidence. Furthermore, because fruit continues to grow until the harvest, immature fruit will be smaller than mature fruit, reducing harvest yield. We tried to determine the right maturation stages in order to avoid product loss during our investigation. The tomato was found to be an appropriate size (6.5 cm length and 6.2 cm diameter), weight (84 g), TSS (4.5 percent), pH (4.3), "turning red", and "tasty" at the week 5 stage, while the broccoli was found to be an appropriate size (12.0 cm length and 13.0 cm diameter), weight (360 g), and "green" color at the week 5 stage. At the week 6 stage, the nettled melon was found to be of appropriate size (15.2 cm length and 14.5 cm diameter), weight (800 g), TSS (10.8 percent), pH (6.3), "net fully developed" on the fruit skin and "much tasty," while cucumber was found to be of appropriate size (8.8 -10.8 cm length and 2.2 -2.9 cm diameter), weight (61 -88 g), TSS (3.8 -4.1 percent), pH (6.3), "less powdery". As a result, establishing the optimal maturity of our research will benefit both consumers and growers.

Effect of Maturity Stages on the Quality of Cold Storage Iceberg Lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitate) for Export

“…This difference could be attributed to the fact that the lettuces harvested at 58 DAP reached their optimal maturity, allowing them to maintain a superior appearance, and have lower rates of wilting and shrivelling, fewer defects, and reduced decay, all while preserving a higher level of freshness compared to the other maturity stages. These findings are consistent with those of Quamruzzaman et al (2022), who emphasized the significance of optimum maturity indices in influencing the growth and quality of high-value vegetables. Vietnam Journal of Agricultural Sciences Note: Vertical bars represent the standard error of the mean of three replications.…”

“…Similarly, the research conducted by Gil et al (2012) supports our findings, as it indicated that immature vegetables experience greater water loss, resulting in wrinkling and diminished flavor quality. Quamruzzaman et al (2022) underscored the importance of harvesting vegetables and fruits at appropriate stages of maturity, as their study suggested that immature produce is prone to shrivelling, mechanical damage, and developing poor color, flavor, and taste resulting in a loss of consumer confidence.…”

“…When iceberg lettuce is harvested at improper maturity it becomes susceptible to both mechanical damage and physiological disorders, leading to a fast degradation in quality. Therefore, the maturity stages affect the quality of vegetables, particularly if the vegetables are harvested at an immature stage of maturity they can become susceptible to shrivelling and mechanical damage, develop poor sensory qualities, and the color, weight, total soluble solids (TSS; good flavor), and phenolics can be negatively affected resulting in a loss of consumer confidence during marketing (Chutichud et al, 2011;Quamruzzaman et al, 2022). According to Gil et al (2012), if iceberg lettuce is harvested after reaching the mature stage, it begins developing a bitter flavor and its color changes due to enzymatic activity.…”

Evaluation of the Impact of Ripening Stage on the Composition and Antioxidant Properties of Fruits from Organically Grown Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Spanish Varieties

“…Finally, the dry matter content, which is essential for the quality of the fruit and has a beneficial effect on the taste qualities of the produce, was found to be within the normal range of 5 to 7.5% [24]. The rest of the quality parameters, including weight, size, colour, and firmness, showed similar values to those previously established in the same or others tomato varieties [25,26], except the weight of the Karelya and Muchamiel varieties, which were higher than those established by other authors [27,28].…”