Evaluation of pear fruit quality in different ripening stages based on internal quality characteristics

Abstract

The impact of maturity on pear fruit quality directly affects consumer taste. Ultraperformance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to determine the sugar and organic acid components of mature pear fruits with different texture types, a texture analyzer was used to determine the texture traits of pear fruits. The result revealed that the variation tendency of sugar and organic acid components affected by the texture types, ripening stages and shelf-life. The decrease in flesh firmness of pear fruits was related to sucrose and glucose during the shelf-life of 0–14 days (d) at different ripening stages. According to the principal component analysis, Nanguoli, Jingbaili and Chili achieved the highest fruit quality score when harvested at 136 days after flower bloom (DAFB); Gute Luise and Korla pear achieved the highest fruit quality score when harvested at 146 DAFB; Yali and Dangshan Suli achieved the highest fruit quality score when harvested at 156 DAFB. In conclusion, combination of texture, sugar and organic acid components could serve as powerful maturity indicator candidates, provided valuable references for determining appropriate harvesting period and the best shelf-life quality of pear fruits.