Determination of Shelf-Life of New Satsuma (Rize) Mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) Cultivar Candidates Obtained by Clonal Selection

Abstract

Satsuma (Rize) Mandarin is Türkiye's most widely produced and exported mandarin variety. Due to its early ripeness and seedlessness, Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) is a popular citrus fruit in domestic and foreign markets. The present study was conducted at Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture in 2020-2021 to determine the shelf-life of Satsuma mandarin genotypes obtained as a result of clonal selection carried out in Rize province and its districts. The harvested mandarin variety candidates were pomologically analyzed and stored in an environment containing at 15°C ± 1 temperature and 55-60% humidity. The changes in fruit weight (g), fruit juice content (%), rind thickness (mm), total soluble solid (%, TSS), and titratable acid (%, TA) content were examined at one-week intervals during the storage period. It was determined that weight loss (%) and TSS (%) increased steadily, while fruit juice content (%), rind thickness (mm), and titratable acid (%) decreased steadily during storage in all genotypes and control. Also, the differences detected in terms of the properties examined were lower on 7 and 14 days than the initial value, whereas they were higher on 21 days. As a result of the findings, it was determined that the quality losses of mandarin genotypes showed differences during the shelf-life, but they could be stored for 14 days without much loss in quality.