Abstract
Passionfruit (Passiflora edulis, Sims, cultivar “Sweetheart”) were subject to gamma irradiation at levels suitable for phytosanitary purposes (0, 150, 400 and 1000 Gy) then stored at 8 °C and assessed for fruit quality and total ascorbic acid concentration after one and fourteen days. Irradiation at any dose (≤1000 Gy) did not affect passionfruit quality (overall fruit quality, colour, firmness, fruit shrivel, stem condition, weight loss, total soluble solids level (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) level, TSS/TA ratio, juice pH and rot development), nor the total ascorbic acid concentration. The length of time in storage affected some fruit quality parameters and total ascorbic acid concentration, with longer storage periods resulting in lower quality fruit and lower total ascorbic acid concentration, irrespective of irradiation. There was no interaction between irradiation treatment and storage time, indicating that irradiation did not influence the effect of storage on passionfruit quality. The results showed that the application of 150, 400 and 1000 Gy gamma irradiation to “Sweetheart” purple passionfruit did not produce any deleterious effects on fruit quality or total ascorbic acid concentration during cold storage, thus supporting the use of low dose irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment against quarantine pests in purple passionfruit.
Highlights
Passionfruit are hosts to a range of quarantine pests including Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt)
There have been no reported studies of low dose irradiation on the quality and total ascorbic acid concentration of the purple “Sweetheart” passionfruit, one of the main purple passionfruit cultivars grown in Australia
There was no significant interaction detected between irradiation treatment and storage time in either fruit quality or total ascorbic acid concentration
Summary
Passionfruit are hosts to a range of quarantine pests including Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt). A maximum of 1000 Gy is approved for use on fresh fruits and vegetables [3], and doses up to this level can be used for phytosanitary purposes Based on these recommendations, irradiation doses of 0, 150, 400 and 1000 Gy were selected for this study. AA in the human body it is important to measure both AA and DHAA in fruits and vegetables and report total ascorbic acid activity [8]. There have been no reported studies of low dose irradiation on the quality and total ascorbic acid concentration of the purple “Sweetheart” passionfruit, one of the main purple passionfruit cultivars grown in Australia. This experiment examined the effect of low dose irradiation 1000 Gy) treatment on “Sweetheart” purple passionfruit quality (overall fruit quality, colour, weight loss, fruit firmness, TSS, TA) and total ascorbic acid concentration (AA plus DHAA) after storage at 8 °C
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