ISHS Acta Horticulturae 1290: XVII International Symposium on Apricot Breeding and Culture
Organic acids content in fruit flesh and skin from a large apricot collection |
| Authors: | M. Cirilli, I. Baccichet, R. Chiozzotto, A. Spinardi, D. Bassi |
| Keywords: | fruit quality, accessions, breeding selections, cultivar |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.2020.1290.34 |
| Abstract:
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) is an important temperate fruit crop widely appreciated by consumers for its nutritional and organoleptic properties. The improvement of fruit quality is one of the major breeding objectives for matching a highly competitive market. Among the quality attributes, flavour plays a pivotal role in consumers' degree of liking which results from a combination of taste and aroma. Apricots' taste primarily depend on sugars and, particularly, organic acids, which affect overall sweetness other than aroma perception. Organic acids content and profile widely differ between cultivars and the quantitative nature of their inheritance complicates the breeding and selection procedures. A large collection of apricot accessions and breeding selections has been characterized, measuring a set of quality parameters and, particularly, the organic acids content and chemical profile of both flesh and skin. Malic and citric were the most abundant organic acids in flesh and skin, although their ratio varied in a genotype-dependent manner. Oxalic, cis-aconitic, quinic, succinic, galacturonic, shikimic and fumaric were less abundant, albeit their content was affected by both genotype and season. In a restricted number of accessions, trace amounts of tartaric acid were also identified. Flesh and skin showed a similar content and profile in most of the accessions, although cases of higher skin vs. low flesh content (and vice versa) were also observed. Considering that organic acids content in skin seems to be one of the major determinants of overall apricot fruit quality, such cases may represent an interesting material for future breeding activities and genetic analyses. | |
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