Comparative study of mango cultivars at the ready-to-eat stage: The case of Western Crete, Greece, a cool subtropic region of the Mediterranean

Abstract

With the expansion of the mango consumer market, exports of the product have increased. The harvest time effects quality characteristics, which identify the quality and consequently the price of the product. Greece is very close to the European markets, so mango fruits can be transferred at a ready-to-eat stage and minimize the distance between harvest maturity and edibility. On this research we studied the characteristics of twelve mango cultivars (‘Carrie’, ‘Keitt’, ‘Kensington’, ‘Kent’, ‘Lippens’, ‘Osteen’, ‘Palmer’, ‘Sabre’, ‘Sensation’, ‘Tommy Atkins’, ‘Van Dyke’ and ‘Zill’) in Greece. The parameters measured were the harvest time, fruit weight and size, fruit firmness, juice pH, soluble solid components, dry matter, ascorbic acid, total sugars and acidity. The first fruits were harvested ready-to-eat, at the first days of August. Fruit firmness was from 4.28 K/cm2 (‘Sensation’), to 1.55 (‘Lippens’). The pH level ranged from 3.64 (‘Van Dyke’) to 4.52 (‘Osteen’). Total soluble solids were 19.84% Brix in ‘Kent’, different from ‘Osteen’ (16.33%). ‘Kent’ had the highest dry matter concentration (25.3%). The higher amount of ascorbic acid (Vit C) was measured in ‘Palmer’ (82.79 mg/100 g juice). Total sugar was the highest in ‘Tommy Atkins’ (24.82 g glucose/100 g juice) and the lowest in ‘Palmer’ (6.51 g glucose/100 g juice). The lowest acidity was observed in ‘Lippens’ (0.16%). Our results indicate that Greece can offer fruit production of high quality, at the ready-to-eat stage. Our results are the first data of mango cultivation in Greece, a region of Europe where mango crop is gaining ground on the market.