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Title: Discrimination of mango fruit maturity by volatiles using the electronic nose and gas chromatography

Author
item LEBRUN, MARC - CIRAD, FRANCE
item Plotto, Anne
item Goodner, Kevin
item DUCAMP, MARIE-NOELLE - CIRAD, FRANCE
item Baldwin, Elizabeth - Liz

Submitted to: Postharvest Biology and Technology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2007
Publication Date: 4/1/2008
Citation: Lebrun, M., Plotto, A., Goodner, K., Ducamp, M., Baldwin, E. 2008. Discrimination of mango fruit maturity by volatiles using the electronic nose and gas chromatography. Postharvest Biology and Technology. 48:122-131.

Interpretive Summary: Mango fruit are harvested green and ripen during shipping and storage. The timing of the harvest is difficult to determine, however, since the various varieties are green for quite awhile on the tree and can be harvested too immature, resulting in poor quality after ripening. In this study, mango fruit, harvested at different stages of green maturity, were analyzed for their aroma volatile production which was related to their quality after ripening. It was found that fruit harvested later had better quality in terms of higher sugar and aroma levels after ripening. Since the aroma volatiles were different for the different harvest maturities, these volatiles could be used to determine if the mango was ripe enough to harvest.

Technical Abstract: Mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.), cv. 'Cogshall', 'Kent' and 'Keitt' were harvested at different maturities (61 - 115 days past flowering for 'Cogshall') and at different sizes (276 to 894 average gFW for 'Kent' and 364 to 1,563 gFW for 'Keitt'). Immediately after harvest or after one week of ripening at room temperature, fruit were homogenized or left intact and evaluated by electronic nose (e-nose) or by gas chromatography (GC) for aroma and other volatiles as well as for solids and acids. Volatile data from the different harvest maturities and ripening stages were discriminated by using multivariate statistics (Discriminant Factor Analysis). Both the e-nose and GC were able, in most cases, to separate fruit from different harvest maturities (especially for 'Cogshall' mangoes) at both the green and ripe stages as well as discriminate green from ripe fruit and fruit from the different varieties. Solids and acids data indicated that later harvest maturities resulted in sweeter fruit and later-harvested fruit had generally higher levels of total volatiles. Mango fruit volatiles may be useful as maturity markers to determine optimal harvest maturity for mango fruit that results in full quality upon ripening.