Fruit Quality of Fresh Cut Seedless Watermelon, Poster Board #021

Watermelon is a good source of vitamin C and contains the antioxidants and anti inflammatory compounds citrulline and lycopene.  Fresh cut watermelon is used as a value added product and as a consumer-friendly fruit package.  In the United States, fresh cut watermelon is often prepared in-store using deli boxes and cubes or blocks of fruit tissue.  Fruit tissue sitting in juice is undesirable and associated with soft watermelon texture. Within watermelon fruit, slight differences in ripeness have been reported, with the blossom end ripening before the stem end.  In this experiment, fruit of three seedless cultivars precooled to 4 °C and surface sterilized with a 100 ppm chlorine spray were cut into thirds (stem end, mid and blossom end).  Fingers or blocks of fruit (6 x 2 x 2 cm or 6 x 6 x 2 cm) were cut and placed in deli boxes then held at 1 °C for 7 and 14 days.  The percentage of juice leakage differed among cultivars and averaged 3%, 4.5%, and 5.7% after 0, 7, and 14 days. ‘Crunchy Red’, ‘Melody’, and ‘Genesis’ had 4.2, 6.5, and 6.5% juice leakage, respectively, after 14 days storage. Average lycopene (53 mg/kg), soluble solids content (SSC) (10%) and pH (5.6) did not change significantly with storage interval or type of cut.  Lycopene content was highest in ‘Crunchy Red’ (56.2 mg/kg) and lowest in ‘Genesis’ (50.8 mg/kg).  Lycopene and SSC were slightly higher from tissue cut from the mid section of the fruit. Juice leakage was slightly increased in the flesh cut as fingers. Overall, the storage interval and cultivar had the most influence on juice leakage and lycopene content.