ISHS Acta Horticulturae 909: XI International Pear Symposium
BAGGING OF 'CONCORDE' PEARS (PYRUS COMMUNIS L.) INFLUENCES FRUIT QUALITY |
| Authors: | M. Hudina, F. Stampar |
| Keywords: | bagging, fruit quality, carbohydrates, organic acids, phenolic compounds |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.909.75 |
| Abstract:
The effect of bagging ‘Concorde’ pear (Pyrus communis L.) fruits was evaluated in order to improve their quality. The experiment was conducted in three treatments: bagged until harvest, bagged until 7 days before harvest and the unbagged control. Bagged fruit were covered with triple-layer paper bags from mid-June 2005, at an early stage of fruit growth. In the first treatment (bagged until harvest), we left the paper bags on the fruit until harvest in September. In the second treatment, we removed the bags seven days before harvest. The third treatment (the control) was not bagged at any time. We measured the fruit dimensions (height, width), fruit weight, ground colour, firmness, soluble solids concentration. Individual sugars, organic acids, and phenolic compounds in the peel and pulp were determined by HPLC analysis. We established that paper bags had no negative effects on fruit size, weight, firmness and soluble solids concentration. The peel ground colour of the control was a darker green compared to the brighter green of bagged pears. Bagging decreased the individual sugars, except glucose, and the total sugars. Total organic acids were lowest when the fruit were bagged until harvest. The appearance of bagged fruit was less attractive. Their colour was a muddy yellow, and their extent of russeting was much higher compared to that of the control. The bagged fruit had a statistically significantly lower concentration of phenolics in the peel, while there were no significant differences in the pulp. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
