A Multi-Parameter Approach for Apricot Texture Analysis

Apricots have a short storage life principally caused by a rapid softening, which increases the sensitivity of the fruit to mechanical damage, and to the development of fungal diseases. The current methods to assess fruit firmness give limited information on the evolution and the mechanisms of softening. With the aim of developing novel strategies to better monitor fruit softening, a multi-parameter approach measuring textural properties was evaluated and compared to a reference method whose results are obtained from a unique parameter. ‘Goldrich’ and ‘Orangered®’ apricots were used in this study as representative cultivars with substantially different post-harvest behavior. The results showed that this multi-parametric approach allows detailed evaluation of the influence of storage conditions on apricots’ textural properties. The correlations found between firmness values measured by the standard method and the multiple textural parameters obtained by the compression and the puncture tests on the fruit flesh had r-values ranging from 0.6 to 0.78. Parameters related to the skin were, however, poorly correlated with the standard method, with r-values all below 0.4. Taken together, these results demonstrate that a multi-parameter approach allows a better understanding of how storage conditions influence the softening of apricots in a cultivar-specific manner.