An index that precisely describes the ripening evolution in Gala fruit

DA-Meter, fruit quality traits, starch, decision support system, postharvest, poscosecha, postcosecha The DA-Meter device do not require the destruction of the fruit sample considered and allow to monitor the fruit growth and the ripening evolution in planta. The DA-Meter allow to collect a consistent amount of data and can be easily ?instruct? to represent potentially a real time decision support system? for the choice of the cultural management techniques to be adopted. This study focused on the definition of the proper harvesting time of the ?Gala? fruit in Piedmont growing areas using the IAD non invasive method. The development of innovative methods for reducing the ripening variability is essential, so that fruits apparently homogeneous on the basis of the quality traits normally used can be more reliably classified in uniform groups allowing a better post-harvest management. The obtained Index precisely described the ripening evolution in Gala fruit, being more reliable than the parameters traditionally used such as starch, SSC or FF. This can be particularly important for cultivars with widespread over-colour, as ?Gala?, for which the monitorin of the fruit ripening changes through traditional optical parameters (in particular, ground colour) is not possible. The IAD also offer an important information on the ripening variability of all the harvested fruits, allowing some consideration driving the choice and the intensity of the pre-harvest cultural techniques more appropriate to obtain at harves the desired quality and to improve the postharvest management. Similar results had been already obtained in other fruit species such as peach and nectarine, where the use of the AD Index was used to assess the harvest time, forecast shelf-life and driven the cultural operation to be performed to reach the desired results. ? SourcesCostamagna, F., Giordani, L., Costa, G. and Noferini, M. 2013. USE OF AD INDEX TO DEFINE HARVEST TIME AND CHARACTERIZE RIPENING VARIABILITY AT HARVEST IN 'GALA' APPLE. Acta Hort. (ISHS) 998:117-123Acta Horticulturae 998, The EUFRIN Thinning Working Group Symposia