Harvest maturity highly affects fruit quality attributes of ethylene-treated ‘autumn sense’ hardy kiwifruit

Figures & data

Figure 1. Vine and fruit of “Autumn sense” hardy kiwifruit.

Figure 2. Sensory preference of fully ripe “Autumn sense” hardy kiwifruit by exogenous ethylene treatment which were harvested at four different maturity stages based on soluble solids content value. H1: fruit harvested at 6.2% of soluble solids content (SSC); H2: fruit harvested at 7.1% of SSC; H3: fruit harvested at 8.1% of SSC; H4: fruit harvested at 9.1% of SSC.

Table 1. Fruit characteristics and quality attributes of “Autumn sense” hardy kiwifruit at harvest and after ripening with exogenous ethylene treatment, comparing four batches harvested at different maturity stages.

	Fruit weight (g)		Length (mm)		Maximum diameter (mm)		Minimum diameter (mm)		Perimeter (cm)		Firmness (N)		SSC (%)		TA (%)		SSC/TA
	–	+	–	+	–	+	–	+	–	+	–	+	–	+	–	+	–	+
H1	20.12^b	18.39^c	39.02^a	35.90^b	33.72^ab	31.43^a	26.34^b	25.81^a	9.54^b	9.27^a	32.08^a	3.08^a	6.15^d	15.11^d	0.83^d	0.74^b	7.45^b	20.78^b
H2	20.39^b	19.55^bc	36.77^c	36.24^ab	32.78^b	31.62^a	26.70^ab	25.97^a	9.64^a	9.46^a	30.58^ab	2.77^b	7.07^c	15.22^c	0.90^c	0.82^a	7.90^b	20.12^b
H3	22.18^a	21.18^a	37.67^b	35.76^b	33.51^b	32.64^a	27.37^a	26.27^a	9.84^a	9.78^a	28.02^bc	2.67^b	8.05^b	16.29^b	1.08^a	0.61^c	8.66^a	27.14^a
H4	22.81^a	20.32^ab	39.79^a	37.08^a	34.56^a	32.70^a	27.37^a	26.36^a	9.91^a	9.60^a	25.08^c	2.75^b	9.12^a	16.40^a	0.97^b	0.78^ab	9.57^b	22.05^b
Significance
H	<0.001		<0.001		0.001		0.002		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001		0.001		<0.001
E	<0.001		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001
H × E	0.197		0.001		0.176		0.618		0.413		0.001		<0.001		<0.001		<0.001

Note. SSC: soluble solids content; TA: titratable acidity; SSC/TA: ratio of soluble solids content to titratable acidity; (–): right after harvest at each stage; (+): after ethylene treatment; H: harvest stage based on soluble solids content value (H1–H4 represented SSC value of 6.2%, 7.1%, 8.1% and 9.1%, respectively); E: exogenous ethylene treatment.

Mean labeled with different superscript letters are significantly different at p < 0.05 (Duncan’s multiple test).

Figure 3. Heatmap of Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) between the quality attributes of “Autumn Sense” hardy kiwifruit measured immediately after harvest and after exogenous ethylene treatment. AT: At harvest; AR: After ripening.