Evaluation of Late-Maturing Peach and Nectarine Fruit Quality by Chemical, Physical, and Sensory Determinations

Abstract

In this work, both analytical and sensory determinations were carried out to evaluate the quality of yellow (‘Summerset‘, ‘Tardiva 2000‘, ‘Fairtime”, ‘Guglielmina’) and white flesh (‘Daniela’) late-ripening peach and nectarine (‘California’ and ‘Fairlane’) cultivars. Analytical measurements included weight, diameter, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, pH, and peel color. To describe and quantify the peach and nectarine sensory profile, a panel of 10 judges generated 15 descriptors. According to univariate analysis of fruit quality attributes, ‘Fairtime’, ‘Summerset, ‘Daniela’, and ‘California’ produced large and attractive fruits with an extensive red peel color. On the other hand, ‘Guglielmina’, ‘Daniela’, ‘Tardiva 2000’, and ‘Fairlane’ produced superior quality fruit in terms of soluble solids, titratable acidity, sweetness, and flavor. The white flesh peach ‘Daniela’ produced fruits with the best balance between external and internal quality. Cluster analysis on standardized component coordinates from biplot analysis allowed for the identification of two main groups. One group included ‘Daniela’, ‘Guglielmin’, ‘Tardiva 2000’, and ‘Fairlane’, along with attributes that are more indicative of ripe fruit such as soluble solids, sweetness, sugar/acid, juiciness, ground color index, peel color uniformity, flesh color intensity, mealiness, peach odor and flavor, and flower odor and flavor. The other group included ‘Summerset’, ‘Fairtime’, and ‘California’ along with weight, diameter, consistency, flesh firmness, percentage of cover color, bitterness, titratable acidity, sour odor and flavor, and grassy odor and flavor. The dual approach adopted in this study indicates that cultivars with large and attractive fruits are often lacking real eating quality. This poses serious doubts on the real value of exterior appearance for recognizing high-quality peaches and nectarines.

Comparative Study of Early- and Mid-Ripening Peach (Prunus persica L.) Varieties: Biological Activity, Macro-, and Micro- Nutrient Profile

“…The results are comparable to the ones documented by Botoran et al [ 44 ] concerning the amino acid profile of selected fruits, including peaches from unknown varieties. In addition, Farina et al [ 45 ] found that varieties with large and attractive fruit often lacked real nutritional quality.…”

Determination of Biochemical Composition in Peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) Accessions Characterized by Different Flesh Color and Textural Typologies

“…While the high levels of hue and lightness (L* = 78.5; data not shown), along with the low levels of chroma in ‘Ghiaccio 1’ describe well the anthocyianinless nature of this genotype (completely white exocarp and mesocarp). Overcolor coloration did not associate with high-eating quality traits in a previous sensory panel [ 73 ]. Regardless, this sensory panel did not evaluate fruit appearance.…”

Field assessment of a second generation backcross (BC1 × Passiflora edulis) of passion fruit for agronomic performance and resistance to CABMV

“…Titratable acidity and soluble solids are important characteristics for industry, and the balance between these two components is associated with the quality and flavour of the fruits (Farina et al., 2019). The results obtained in our study showed little variation in SS (10.11 to 13.48 °Brix) and TA (3.68% to 3.85%) in the BC2 progeny evaluated, although these values are within the minimum standards recommended by Brazilian regulations, which are 11.0 °Brix and 2.50% TA.…”