Influence of different sources of pollen on the chemical composition of date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivar Medjool in México

Abstract

The objective of the present work was to investigate the influence of pollen sources over chemical characteristics of the Medjool date cultivar. The study was conducted under conditions of the Northwest part of Mexico, during the year 2016 cultivation season. The content of nutrients (protein, lipids, fiber and ash), sugars (total, reducing, non-reducing, sucrose, glucose and fructose), and most abundant minerals were evaluated. Three bunches of each of the four selected female palms Medjool cultivar were pollinated with Deglet Noor, Khadrawy, Medjool and Zahidi cultivars, and their fruit were used for the analyses. Results show low concentrations of lipids and ash (0.68-0.80% and 2.49-2.82%, g/100 g dry weight basis), while protein and crude fiber were in the range of 2.92-3.35% and 6.86-7.29%, respectively. In addition, a high content of total sugars (77.78-70.04%) were found. The predominant mineral was potassium with a range of 794.30 (Khadrawy)-869.93 mg/100 g dry weight basis (Deglet Noor), followed by magnesium with 136.72 (Medjool)-150.10 mg/100 g dry weight basis (Khadrawy). An analysis of total phenols revealed that the Khadrawy cultivar had the highest content, with 5.30 (mg GAE/100 g) and the lowest was for Zahidi with 3.82 (mg GAE/100 g). The Khadrawy cultivar had the highest effects on the chemical parameters of the four evaluated treatments. Therefore, pollen source has a significant effect on the chemical properties of the fruit from the Medjool cultivar.

Effect of Four Pollinating Sources on Nutritional Properties of Medjool Date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Seeds

“…The insoluble solids content on average for this study was 94.64 g/100 g for the seed (Table 3), much higher than the pulp content of the same fruit (15.70 g/100 g) reported in another study under the same production conditions [12]. The average of the four treatments in total soluble solids and total acidity of 'Medjool' seeds were lower than the results reported for fruit by the study mentioned above; however, the pH turned out to be very similar to that of the 'Medjool' date fruit [12].…”

“…Table 8 shows the average values of the physical parameters and proximal composition of 'Medjool' date seeds obtained from the four treatments (pollen sources: 'Deglet Noor', 'Khadrawy', 'Medjool', and 'Zahidi') in this study compared to those reported by studies carried out in Morocco [30] and United Arab Emirates [31]. The insoluble solids content on average for this study was 94.64 g/100 g for the seed (Table 3), much higher than the pulp content of the same fruit (15.70 g/100 g) reported in another study under the same production conditions [12]. The average of the four treatments in total soluble solids and total acidity of 'Medjool' seeds were lower than the results reported for fruit by the study mentioned above; however, the pH turned out to be very similar to that of the 'Medjool' date fruit [12].…”

“…In this study, its average value was 4.5 g/100 g (Table 2) for the seed of 'Medjool'. Although low, the seed protein content is higher than the content of protein in the pulp of the fruit [12].…”

“…However, some of the parameters (diameter, total acidity, pH) did not show statistically significant differences. In previous studies carried out in Mexico, under the same conditions, it was determined that the pollen from the 'Khadrawy' cultivar influenced most of the analyzed physico-chemical characteristics of 'Medjool' fruit [11,12].…”

“…Therefore, they have focused on identifying the male cultivars that have the greatest effects on the quality parameters in the fruit. Recent studies on the fruit of the 'Medjool' date cultivar in Mexico have concluded that there is a significant influence of pollen source on fruit physical and nutritional parameters [11,12].…”