Ripening Stage Affects the Quality of Fresh and Dehydrated Pineapples (<i>Ananas comosus </i>(L.) Merr.)<i> cv. </i>Mauritius in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) being a non climacteric fruit, its flavor and sugar content does not increase after harvesting. Thus, the maturity stage at harvesting affects the quality of pineapples after harvesting. This study was conducted to compare the quality parameters at four different ripening stages of pineapple (cultivar Mauritius-Queen type) and their effect on sensory properties after dehydration. Pineapples were harvested at dark green, 50% yellow, 75% yellow and 100% yellow color stages. Total Soluble Solid (TSS) content, Titratable Acidity (TA), TSS/TA ratio, pH, Fruit firmness, L*,a*,b* and hue angle were quantified in fresh samples and the appearance, texture, taste, odor, color and overall acceptability were evaluated in dehydrated samples at each ripening stage. The ripening stage had a significant (P&lt;0.05) effect on selected quality parameters of fresh pineapples. Highest TSS content of 17.75±0.67 was observed in 100% yellow stage whereas the lowest was observed in dark green stage (15.75±0.48). In contrast, the highest firmness was observed in dark green stage (27.47±6.4 N) while the lowest was in 100% yellow stage (12.01±1.17 N). Lowest pH and highest TA were observed in dark green stage while the highest pH and lowest TA were observed in 100% yellow stage with values of 3.49±0.06, 0.82±0.02, 3.74±0.01 and 0.78±0.02, respectively. Sensory evaluation revealed that 75% yellow stage is the optimum ripening stage for dehydration of pineapple (cultivar Mauritius-Queen type) with significantly greater sensory evaluation ranks compared to other stages.

Influence of post‐harvest physiology on sensory perception, physical properties, and chemical compositions of Moris pineapples (Ananas comosus L.)

“…As pineapple maturity increases, so does the pH value, while titratable acidity decreases due to depletion of acids caused by metabolic reaction during ripening process (Table 2). The balance of sweet and sour taste of fruit is determined by the ratio of total soluble solids to titratable acidity (TSS/TA) (Kumara & Hettige, 2020; Mandal et al., 2015; Zhang et al, 2020). The higher TSS/TA ratio in the Index 7 indicates the sweeter or less sour taste of the pineapple.…”

The Effects of Calcium Fertilizer Sprays during Fruit Development Stage on Pineapple Fruit Quality under Humid Tropical Climate

“…erefore, the "MD-2" type was expected to have a high value compared to other cultivars [24,26]. e TSS and TA were also increased with the ripening stage [25].…”

“…e usual values of the pH in low acid hybrids fall in the range of 3.3 to 4.0, decreasing as the fruit gets closer to harvest [22][23][24][25]. erefore, the "MD-2" type was expected to have a high value compared to other cultivars [24,26].…”

“…CaCl 2 has been used in several experiments to improve the shelf life and quality of pineapple fruit [33,34]. Ion Ca 2+ is tied to calcium-dependent proteins, known as calmodulins (CaMs), calcineurin B-like proteins (CBLs), and calcium-dependent protein kinases (CDPKs) [25]. ese proteins produce a downstream response, creating a higher solubility of the calcium, increasing its content in the plants, delaying the fruit senescence, and improving its quality [29,35].…”

Impact of Maturity Stages, Shrink-Wrap Packaging and Storage Temperature on Shelf Life and Quality of Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) Fruit ‘Mauritius’

“…The same trend continued until the end of the storage period. Kumara and Hettige (2020) reported that the highest TSS content of 17.75  0.67 was seen in the 100% yellow tubercles stage in the pineapple 'Mauritius'.…”