Spatial and Compositional Variations in Fruit Characteristics of Papaya (Carica papaya cv. Tainung No. 2) during Ripening

Abstract

Papaya fruit (Carica papaya) has different degrees of ripening within each fruit, affecting its commercial market value. The fruit characteristics of “Tainung No. 2” Red papaya were investigated at the stem-end, middle, and calyx-end across 3 ripening stages and categorized based on fruit skin coloration: unripe at 16 weeks after anthesis (WAA), half-ripe at 18 WAA, and full-ripe at 20 WAA. The fruits maintained an elliptical shape during ripening with a ratio of 2.36 of the length to the width. The peel and pulp color changed from green to white to yellow during ripening, regardless of the three parts. In the pulp, soluble solid contents increased, and firmness decreased during ripening but did not differ among the three parts. Individual nutrient contents, including metabolites and minerals, changed dynamically between the ripening stages and fruit parts. Total carbohydrates and proteins, N, and K, were accumulated more at the stem-end during ripening; meanwhile, fructose, glucose, Mg, and Mn were accumulated more at the calyx-end. In the principal component analysis, ripening stages and fruit parts were distinctly determined by the first and second principal components, respectively. Understanding the nutrient and metabolite dynamics during ripening and their distribution within the fruit can help optimize cultivation practices, enhance fruit quality, and ultimately benefit both growers and consumers.

Sustainable Novel Food Coating of Chitosan–Acetylated Gallic Acid Nanoparticles with Pulsed Light Treatment: A Promising Edible Food Preservative

“…Usually, with the ripening process, the ascorbic acid content first increases and then declines after the ripening of the model fruit. 83 With the nanocoat of compound [3(a)], retention of the ascorbic acid content signifies the slowdown of the ripening process as revealed from the experimental outcome from Figure 24a,b; whereas for the other samples, the ascorbic acid content was increased, which led to the faster ripening of the fruit.…”

Fruit and Vegetable Production

“…This Special Issue comprises a collection of 12 peer-reviewed manuscripts covering basic and applied themes of crop response to organic amendments, biostimulants, irrigation, physiological stress, metabolic stimulation, and novel technologies for the efficient characterization of specialty crops, quality assessment, and cultivar evaluation. 2023) investigated selected compositional changes of papaya during ripening, with particular emphasis on nutrition and metabolite distributions between the calyx and stem end of the fruit [7]. From their findings, total carbohydrates, total protein, nitrogen, and potassium showed maximum accumulation at the stem end, with fructose, glucose, magnesium, and manganese accumulating at the calyx end [7].…”

“…2023) investigated selected compositional changes of papaya during ripening, with particular emphasis on nutrition and metabolite distributions between the calyx and stem end of the fruit [7]. From their findings, total carbohydrates, total protein, nitrogen, and potassium showed maximum accumulation at the stem end, with fructose, glucose, magnesium, and manganese accumulating at the calyx end [7].…”