Abstract
The Emilia-Romagna region is excellent in European pear production. CREA Centro di Ricerca Olivicoltura, Frutticoltura e Agrumicoltura leads a breeding project co-founded by New Plant (a consortium of three growers’associations Apofruit, Apoconerpo, and Orogel Fresco) whose main objective is to improve fruit quality and nutraceutical parameters. The purpose of this study is to describe the qualitative characteristics of some new genotypes obtained by this breeding activity after cold storage, in comparison with the main cultivated varieties, ‘Abbé Fétel’, ‘William’s B.C’ and ‘Doyenne du Comice’. In 2013, 2014, and 2015, fruit samples, stored in a normal refrigeration room and after 100 dd, reaching the consumption ripening (2.5–3 kg/0.5 cm2), were analyzed to quantify the qualitative parameters: average weight, caliber, titratable acidity, soluble solids contents, skin color and overcolor, sugar and organic acids content, the antioxidant capacity, the total polyphenols, and ascorbic acid content. The results showed that the selection ‘CREA 171’, with red skin and yellow-cream flesh, outstood for the high antioxidant capacity due to the high content of polyphenols and ascorbic acid.
Highlights
(a consortium of three growers’associations Apofruit, Apoconerpo, and Orogel Fresco) whose main objective is to improve fruit quality and nutraceutical parameters
Italian production is concentrated in the Emilia-Romagna region, which is excellent for pear production in Europe and the main grown cultivars are ‘Abbé Fétel’
The pear breeding programs in progress all around the world differ in objectives related to the environment, soil, weather conditions, and the consumers’ taste
Summary
(a consortium of three growers’associations Apofruit, Apoconerpo, and Orogel Fresco) whose main objective is to improve fruit quality and nutraceutical parameters. The purpose of this study is to describe the qualitative characteristics of some new genotypes obtained by this breeding activity after cold storage, in comparison with the main cultivated varieties, ‘Abbé Fétel’, ‘William’s B.C’ and ‘Doyenne du Comice’. Since 1980, many breeding activities have been carried out all around the world and the nearly 400 new varieties obtained, only the pear cv ‘Carmen’, obtained by CREA of Forlì in 2000, raised some interest from regional producers because of its earlier production of quality pears [3]. Obtaining new disease-resistant cultivars producing quality fruit with appealing traits, such as red peel, is the challenge for pear breeders [4]. Pear fruit quality is defined by some physical properties such as color, size, texture, taste, and aroma and by chemical parameters such as sugar and organic acids, vitamins, and minerals [5].
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