Physiological and biochemical characterisation of split and healthy Daisy mandarin (Citrus reticulata Burm.) fruits

ABSTRACT

Fruit splitting is a prevalent physiological disorder that has a significant impact on Daisy mandarin fruit production, posing challenges to farmers in terms of productivity and economic viability. Despite its impact, no prior research on fruit splitting in Daisy mandarin has been conducted. This study aimed to assess the effect of fruit splitting on quality, morphological characteristics, biochemical composition and nutrient content in Daisy mandarin. In 2022, a comprehensive analysis was conducted on both split and healthy Daisy mandarin fruits, budded on Rough lemon rootstock, to investigate their morphological characteristics, biochemical characteristics, mineral content and cell wall components. Additionally, the study examined the activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes, such as peroxidase (POD), cellulase (Cx) and polygalacturonase (PG). The Results indicated that split fruits exhibited larger fruit size and weight and increased water content in both the fruits and peel compared to healthy fruits. However, split fruits had thinner peel thickness and lower peel content. The peels of split fruits also contained higher level of total soluble sugars, amino acids, and proline content. Furthermore, the peels of split fruits displayed much higher activity of cell wall-degrading enzymes than those of healthy fruits. The nutrient analysis of the split fruits revealed a decrease in boron, calcium and potassium content in the peel compared to healthy fruits. The study provides crucial insights into the mechanisms underlying fruit splitting, identifying biochemical and physiological differences between split and healthy fruits. These findings offer valuable information for developing strategies to mitigate fruit splitting, enhancing fruit quality and reducing economic losses for citrus growers. Future research should explore the genetic and environmental factors contributing to fruit splitting and investigate potential interventions to improve nutrient management and fruit integrity in Daisy mandarin cultivation.

KEYWORDS:

• Citrus
• cracking
• Daisy
• enzymes
• peel
• juice
• nutrients

Acknowledgements

We extend our sincere thanks to Mr. Harjit Singh, Progressive Farmer, from Jaitto, Punjab, for generously granting us access to his orchard. Komalpreet Kaur: Experimental analysis, Record of data, Comprehensive study, drafting the original manuscript, Monika Gupta: formulations of research framework, project supervision, research material, manuscript review and editing of manuscript; H S Rattanpal and Anita Arora: Supervision of experimental execution and procedure for lab analysis; Vivek Sharma: procedures for analysis, lab analysis supervision Sidakmeet Singh: Record of data and Refinement of manuscript.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Data availability statement

The data generated or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.