Multivariate selection index of acerola genotypes for fresh consumption based on fruit physicochemical attributes

Maria Aparecida Rodrigues Ferreira,Bárbara Orrana Sobreira Da Silva,Ianca Carneiro Ferreira,Sérgio Tonetto De Freitas,Flávio De França Souza,João Claudio Vilvert

doi:10.1007/s10681-022-02978-1

Abstract

Acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) is one of the most important fruit produced in the São Francisco Valley, a Semi-arid region in the Northeast of Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical quality of thirty-five acerola genotypes produced during two growing seasons in a Semi-arid region and to identify the best ones with potential for fresh consumption based on a multivariate selection index. Fruit of each genotype were harvested during two growing seasons at the maturity stage red-ripe, characterized by full red skin color. After harvest, the fruit were evaluated for diameter, mass, flesh firmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio, ascorbic acid content and skin color. A multivariate selection index (SI) was applied for scoring and ranking the genotypes for fresh consumption based on red-ripe fruit physicochemical quality. According to the results, all physicochemical attributes had high variability among genotypes. The SI was a powerful tool for identifying genotypes with high potential for fresh consumption, since it allowed selecting genotypes with multiple desirable traits. In the first and second growing seasons, the SI identified the genotypes PROG 052 (SI = 76.1 and 78.9), BRS Rubra (SI = 74.1 and 99.5), Cabocla (SI = 72.3 and 70.7), Costa Rica (SI = 61.2 and 73.8) and PROG 069 (SI = 68.1 and 72.4) as the most promising ones for fresh consumption due to the presence of multiple desirable traits such as high diameter, mass, flesh firmness, SS, and SS/AT ratio, as well as lower acidity.

Highlights

Acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) is a tropical super-fruit due to its high vitamin C content that exceeds 100 times the contents observed in oranges and lemons (Prakash and Baskaran, 2018)
This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical quality of thirty-five acerola genotypes produced during two growing seasons in a Semi-arid region and to identify the best ones with potential for fresh consumption based on a multivariate selection index
Physicochemical quality of acerola genotypes harvested at the red-ripe maturity stage in 2019 and 2020 growing seasons is presented in Tables 2, 3 and 4

Summary

Introduction

Acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) is a tropical super-fruit due to its high vitamin C content that exceeds 100 times the contents observed in oranges and lemons (Prakash and Baskaran, 2018). Brazil is the largest producer of acerola, with several cultivation areas in the Northeastern region, where the environmental conditions enable three to four harvests per year (Alves et al, 1999). The production of acerolas in Brazil is intended for the fresh fruit market and/or processing industry. Genotypes intended for fresh consumption are characterized by larger and firmer fruit, with higher soluble solids content and lower levels of organic acids, which guarantees the sweetness desired by consumers (Hoehn et al, 2005). Genotypes intended for the processing industry must have higher levels of ascorbic acid, which is one of the main forms of processed products. Acerola can be marketed as frozen pulp, concentrate, juice, ice cream, gelatin, soft drinks, nectar, jelly, gum, preserve, yogurts and sodas (Delva and Schneider, 2013; Mezadri et al, 2006)

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