Relationship between Skin Color and Fruit Quality in ‘Natsutayori’ Loquat

Abstract

In this study, the fruit quality of ‘Natsutayori’ loquat was compared with ‘Nagasakiwase’ and ‘Mogi’ in Tarumizu City, Kagoshima Prefecture. In ‘Natsutayori’, the fruit weight was heavier and the flesh firmness was lower than ‘Nagasakiwase’ and ‘Mogi’. In addition, the fruit was sampled in three times (12 May, 19 May and 26 May) during harvest period, and the relationship between the skin color a* value and the fruit quality in ‘Natsutayori’ was investigated. On all harvest dates, as the skin color a* value increased, the fruit weight tended to increase. At the beginning (12 May) and at the middle (19 May) of harvest, the flesh firmness tended to decrease as the skin color a* value increased. At the end (26 May) of harvest, no significant difference was observed in the flesh firmness of fruit with skin color a* value of 8-14. And then, as the skin color a* value increased, the sugar content increased and the titratable acidity decreased. Based on the relationship between the skin color a* value and the fruit quality, it was determined that the skin color a* value for the appropriate harvest time in ‘Natsutayori’ was 8.