Biochemical Changes during Ripening of Ker Fruits from Arid Zone

Abstract

Capparis decidua is an important wild edible fruit found in arid zone of Rajasthan. During adverse climatic conditions when fresh vegetables are not easily available, the green immature ker fruits, provide all the necessary supplements to the diet of rural people living in the desert. These berries are rich in protein, carbohydrates, fats and minerals and used by either pickling or in form of a delicious vegetable curry. Quality of any fruit depends on various physico-biochemical changes, which occur during its growth, development and maturity. To study some of these chemical changes viz. sugar, protein and fat during development and ripening of Capparis decidua fruits during the three fruiting periods, these were graded into 6 categories and then evaluated for chemical parameters. Initially as the fruit matured these parameters increased, but there was a dip in their content at a certain stage and then they increased again as the ripening proceeded. Variation of these parameters in different fruiting periods showed that the April season fruits were rich in sugar (10.83%) hence less bitter. Protein was maximum in July (13.56%) fruits and seeds of winter season fruits were rich in fatty oil (19.15%). Analysis of variance revealed these changes were significant at P< 5%. As these parameters are important determinants of eating quality, the rural inhabitants can enhance their livelihood by harvesting these fruits at proper time and selling them in the market.