Percentage of Dry Matter and Oil Content Are Not Reliable Indicators of Fruit Maturity or Quality in Late-harvested `Hass' Avocado

The potential to use percentage of dry matter (DM) and/or oil of the flesh of `Hass' avocado as a maturity standard to determine the latest harvest for acceptable fruit quality, was investigated. `Hass' avocado fruit were harvested from early October to mid-January from a commercial orchar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inHortScience Vol. 35; no. 4; pp. 694 - 695
Main Authors Hofman, Peter J, Jobin-Decor, Marcelle, Giles, Janet
Format Journal Article Conference Proceeding
LanguageEnglish
Published Alexandria, VA American Society for Horticultural Science 01.07.2000
Subjects
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Biological and medical sciences
Economic plant physiology
Fructification, ripening. Postharvest physiology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Growth and development
Production quality
Oil content
Persea americana
Dry matter
Biological indicator
Dicotyledones
Angiospermae
Avocado
Spermatophyta
Fruit tree
Lauraceae
Maturity
Physiological disorder
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Summary:The potential to use percentage of dry matter (DM) and/or oil of the flesh of `Hass' avocado as a maturity standard to determine the latest harvest for acceptable fruit quality, was investigated. `Hass' avocado fruit were harvested from early October to mid-January from a commercial orchard in subtropical Queensland. The percentage of DM and oil changed little during the harvest period, and the eating quality of the flesh remained high. However, the incidence of body rots (caused mainly by Colletotrichum sp.) and the flesh disorders grey pulp and vascular browning, increased with harvest. These results indicate that percentage of DM and oil are not reliable late-maturity standards because of the inconsistent change with later harvests, and that disease and internal disorders can be the main determinants of latest acceptable harvest, rather than eating quality.
ISSN:0018-5345
2327-9834
DOI:10.21273/HORTSCI.35.4.694