New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science abstracts
Changes in firmness of the outer pericarp, inner pericarp,
and core of Actinidia species during ripening
P. J. JACKSON
F. R. HARKER
The Horticulture and Food Research
Institute of New Zealand
Mt Albert Research Centre
Private Bag 92 169
Auckland, New Zealand
Abstract Firmness of
Actinidia deliciosa (kiwifruit),
A. chinensis, and
A. arguta was measured using two methods. The
first involved driving a 2 mm diameter probe radially into the fruit using a
materials testing machine and recording the force-distance curve as the probe
passed through the different tissue zones. In the second method, puncture
measurements (again using a 2 mm diameter probe) were made at a number of
positions within tissues exposed by cutting equatorial or longitudinal slices
of fruit (10 mm thick). The advantage of both methods is that they provide
information on the firmness of all tissue zones within the flesh. By
comparison, conventional penetrometer measurements mainly reflect the firmness
of the outer pericarp. The results indicate that
Actinidia spp
.
generally undergo similar reductions in firmness, although the period between
harvest and initiation of softening and the length of the softening period may
vary. In one of the selections of
A. chinensis, the fruit did not
soften. During the consumption of kiwifruit, complex texture attributes will
relate to the composition of all edible tissue zones (outer pericarp, inner
pericarp, and core). Thus, we recommend that evaluation of firmness and
softening of new
Actinidia selections requires assessment of all tissue
zones.
Keywords puncture test; fruit firmness; kiwifruit;
Actinidia deliciosa; Actinidia chinensis; Actinidia arguta
New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science, 1997, Vol. 25:
185-189
0114-0671/97/2502-0185 $7.00/0 (c) The Royal Society of New Zealand
1997
Short communication
PDF file of entire paper: medium quality (751K); (scanned from paper original: notes about this process)
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