INVESTIGADORES
VICENTE Ariel Roberto
artículos
Título:
Micro-structural and quality changes in growing dark-purple eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) as affected by the harvest season
Autor/es:
VALERGA, LUCÍA; DARRÉ, MAGALÍA; ZARO, MARÍA JOSÉ; ARAMBARRI, ANA; VICENTE, ARIEL ROBERTO; LEMOINE, MARÍA LAURA; CONCELLÓN, ANALÍA.
Revista:
SCIENTIA HORTICULTURAE
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2018
ISSN:
0304-4238
Resumen:
Whereas the production season is accepted to exert profound influence on fruit physiology, micro-structure and quality, very few studies have attempted to find liaisons between these traits. Herein, we determined the micro-structural and quality changes of eggplant fruit produced in Late Spring, Late Summer and Late Fall at three growing stages: Baby (S1, 9 cm length), Commercially mature (S2, 17 cm length) and Advanced commercially mature (S3, 21 cm length). We followed fruit elongation and assessed at harvest the size of epidermal and parenchyma cells, cuticle thickness, respiration rate, dry matter content, firmness, seed number, seed size, and seediness. The time required to reach commercial maturity was 3-4 times shorter in Late Spring than in Late Fall fruit. Micro-structural evaluations showed that Late Spring fruit had higher number of epidermal and epicarp cells per unit area than Late Fall eggplants, which in turn presented thinner cuticles and a less compact large-celled central endocarp parenchyma. Commercially mature Late Fall eggplants also had less dark-purple color, showed lower respiration rate and were firmer than fruit growing earlier in the season. Remarkably, for all maturity stages fruit dry matter content was the parameter correlating best with fruit firmness (r = 0.71). Late Summer fruit tended to show intermediate properties, but were characterized by having higher seed number, size and seediness. Overall, results show the influence that the growing season exerts on eggplant metabolism, micro-structure and quality.