2018 ASHS Annual Conference

Melting (buttery and juicy) texture is one of the most important traits in European pears (Pyrus communis L.) affecting consumer purchasing decisions. Flesh firmness (FF) and extractable juice (EJ) are the currently two indicators for predicting eating potential in European pears. However, many people do not understand why the fruit developed a characteristic of juicy during melting texture development is associated with a loss in EJ. In this study, we developed a simple and rapid method for evaluating the melting texture in pear flesh based on the holding of the water by water-soluble polyuronides (WSP), hygroscopic holding capacity (HHC), after extractable juice was removed from the flesh sample. The HHC data were monitored in three pear cultivars (‘Bartlett’, ‘Golden Bosc’, and ‘d’Anjou’) following regular-air (RA) storage plus a ripening period at 20 °C in two years. There was a high negative correlation between EJ and HHC (r² = 0.996 in ‘Bartlett’, 0.884 in ‘Golden Bosc’ and 0.928 in ‘d’Anjou’). The development of HHC was negatively correlated with FF and EJ, while positively correlated with WSP and melting texture. The factors of cultivar, harvest maturity, produced elevation, storage duration, storage temperature and controlled atmosphere (CA) affected the development of HHC in pears. HHC may be used as a critical melting index with FF in European pears due to its significant increase during ripening.