ISHS Acta Horticulturae 741: I International Symposium on Fresh Food Quality Standards: Better Food by Quality and Assurance
YIELD AND MICROBIAL EVALUATION OF SUMMER SQUASH PISTILLATE FLOWERS FOR 'READY TO USE PRODUCT'. FIRST RESULTS |
| Authors: | N. Calabrese, F. Baruzzi, G. Signorella, G. Damato |
| Keywords: | Cucurbita pepo L., processing, quality, storage, shelf life |
| Abstract:
Staminate and pistillate flowers of summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) are greatly appreciated by consumers in the southern Italy and, as to their easy perishableness, are destined only to local markets. One of the main limitation in the use of these vegetables to prepare new ‘ready to use products’ (RTUP) is related to their microbiological quality; the microbial load on each vegetable comprises different physiological groups of micro organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the productive, morphologic and qualitative traits of new cultivars of summer squash and to investigate the influence of the staminate flowers microbial load on the perishableness during the storage of RTUP. Six cultivars: ‘Cora’, ‘White Lady’, ‘Goldi’, ‘Orientos’, ‘Aquilone’, ‘Albatros’, were seeded in the first week of May in polystyrene trays; after 20 days the plantlets were transplanted in open field, according to randomised block design. Daily harvests were made from 17 June to 20 July. High yield of fruits were generally recorded for all cultivars. The cv. Cora and White Lady produced about 7 t ha-1 more than other cultivars, whereas for the cv. Albatros was observed the higher fruit weight. The cv. Aquilone showed the biggest pistillate flowers and resulted suitable to prepare RTUP. Young fruits with attached flowers were set in trays, packaged in sealed PE bags and stored at 4°C. The microbial growth on the pistillate flowers was evaluated immediately after the harvest and at 4, 8, 11 days of storage. After a sharp decreasing, total aerobic bacteria and total yeasts counts showed the highest value at 11th day of storage, reaching about, 5x106 CFU•g-1 and 6x104 CFU•g-1 respectively; whereas the increasing of total enterobacteria and lactobacilli was less marked. However the shelf life of the RTUP was no longer than a week because off the progressive browning of the pistils observed starting from 5 days storage connected with the microbial growth. | |
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