Litchi Growth and Compositional Changes during Fruit Development

Abstract

The changes in litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) growth and composition were studied in 4 cultivars; ‘Groff’ in Hawaii, and ‘Shui Dong’, ‘Gui Wei’, and ‘Mei selection’ in Guangdong, China. Fruit and aril growth showed a sigmoidal pattern while skin growth was slower and more linear. Aborted seeds in Groff and Gui Wei ceased growth early in the log growth phase. Normal seeded cultivars showed seed growth paralleling skin growth. Skin chlorophyll began to decrease logarithmically soon after the start of fruit growth increase, with anthocyanin production beginning about halfway through the growth period. During the rapid growth period, due principally to an increase in aril tissue, there was an increase in total sugars from 3% to 16%. The cultivars showed slightly different ratios of the 3 sugars identified: sucrose, glucose, and fructose. Titratable acidity was due mainly to succinic and malic acid. This acidity decreased over 2 weeks in the middle of the fruit growth period from 65 meq/100 g to 15 meq/100 g. Succinic acid decreased in the same period from about 350 meq/100 g to 0.4 meq/100 g and remained low for the remaining 40 days of development. Malic acid declined from 75 meq/100 g to 12 meq/100 g, and citric acid remained constant at around 3 meq/100 g. A major portion of the decline in succinic acid was due to dilution. Total phenols were low throughout the growth of the fruit. Mineral uptake into the fruit paralleled fruit growth, with potassium being the major cation.

Inheritance of Fruit Weight, Size and Organic Acid Content in a Distant Hybrid Population of Longan ‘Huanongzao’ and Lychee ‘Ziniangxi’

“…However, the organic acids in 'Huanongzao' and 101 F 1 hybrids in this study were mainly malic acid, oxalic acid, and citric acid, but fumaric acid was also detected. The research has shown that the acids in lychee were mainly malic acid, succinic acid, and citric acid [19], although Hu et al [20] suggested malic acid and tartaric acid. In this study, the organic acids in 'Ziniangxi' were mainly malic acid and citric acid; gallic acid was undetected.…”

Litchi postharvest physiology and handling

“…The growth of fruit and arils shows a sigmoidal pattern, while the growth is slower and more linear (Figure 1a). Rapid growth is principally due to an increase in aril tissue (Paull et al., 1984). Fruit length increased up to the 1 7t h week from anthesis, while width and weight increased continuously.…”

“…Total sugars increase in aril from 3% to 16% during the rapid growth period. Aril acidity decreases over 2 weeks in the middle of fruit growth (Paull et al., 1984). Titratable acidity (TA) is mainly due to malic acid.…”

“…Another component of the colour of the pericarp is chlorophyll that begins to decline soon after the start of the fruit growth, with anthocyanin synthesis beginning when the fruit is about half‐grown (B. Lai et al., 2015; Paull et al., 1984). The color of the pericarp changes from light green to yellow green (12–15 weeks after anthesis) and then yellow‐red to dark red during fruit development.…”

Evaluación del efecto de los recubrimientos bioactivos antioxidantes en la conservación poscosecha de litchi

“…Uno de los alimentos en los que lo recubrimientos han encontrado su uso más amplio es en la conservación de frutos ya que son altamente perecederos y presentan un metabolismo activo durante el almacenamiento. El litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn) es una fruta de fácil descomposición, no climatérica valorada comercialmente por su sabor exótico (Paul et al, 1984). El fruto litchi pertenece a la familia Sapindaceae, hay varias variedades de litchi con diversos colores, pero los cultivares rojos son los más importantes para los mercados internacionales.…”