Postharvest behavior of four genetic feijoa (Acca sellowiana) selections

Feijoa (Acca sellowiana Berg) belongs to the Myrtaceae family. It is native to South America and grows mainly in Uruguay, in the southern part of Brazil, and is in some regions of Paraguay and Argentina (PARRA-CORONADO; FISCHER, 2013). In other regions of the world, especially New Zealand, it is a fairly established commercial crop, developed based on genetic materials collected from Uruguay and Brazil. In Uruguay, its domestication began in 2000, and there are currently released varieties. Studies have been conducted to identify the genetic materials of interest, including the characterization of their postharvest behavior in addition to agronomic aspects. The harvest period of feijoa extends from March to May. The feijoa fruit of different genetic materials has essential differences in their metabolic and physicochemical characteristics that directly affect the fruit?s postharvest quality, thereby warranting investigations on their characterization.Postharvest behaviourn regard to general characteristics, feijoa is a climacteric fruit. A few studies indicate that it is sensitive to cold with and storage period of 21 days at 4?C with a shelf life of 2 days (AMARANTE et al., 2008; VELHO et al., 2011). Increased storage periods lead to a decrease in fruit quality, evidenced by the loss of flavor, due to changes in acidity and sugars, and by the occurrence of darkening of the pulp (AMARANTE et al., 2013). This is another crucial aspect of being considered within the selection programs. Nutritional propertiesAlthough the concept of the consumption of health-beneficial compounds by fruit and vegetable intake is well-established, in recent years, more attention has been paid to them as their regular consumption may help prevent a range of diseases (LORENZO et al., 2021). Antioxidants in fruits, especially phenolic compounds, act as reducing agents against reactive oxygen species, often generated as byproducts of biological reactions or in response to exogenous factors. These reactive oxygen species can disrupt cells structure by reacting with proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids (MELO et al., 2008; AMARANTE et al., 2017b). Feijoa fruits have attracted scholarly interest due to their composition, related to phenolic compounds, vitamins, and others with antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti- allergic activity, and their sweet-acid flavor and characteristic aroma (ZHU, 2018). In this study, we aimed to evaluate the behavior of four genetic materials (GM7, GM12, GM26, and GM27) during refrigerated storage and subsequent shelf life to contribute to developing new varieties of feijoa that can be commercially exploited. AbstractThe characteristics of four genetic materials of feijoa (GM7, GM12, GM26, and GM27) after 7, 15, and 30 days of refrigerated storage (5?C and 97% RH) followed by 7 days of shelf-life (20?C and 80% RH) were analyzed. Respiratory activity, weight loss, flesh firmness, external and internal color, internal browning, total polyphenol content (TPC), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were determined. GM12 exhibited the best respiratory activity in most of the evaluated moments. Significant weight loss, i.e., 5%?7% of the initial weight at 7+7 and 15+7 days of storage and 8%?10% at 30+7 days was observed, especially in GM26. At harvest, flesh firmness was 38?57 N and reduced by 50%?65% in shelf-life. The external color did not show noticeable differences. Internal browning, which increased with the storage progress, was less noticeable in GM7, possibly owing to its lower TPC and TAC. GM26 and GM27 were the least firm and had the maximum weight loss. Although GM7 had a lower content of functional compounds, it had less internal browning. GM12 presented significant respiratory activity, high content of functional compounds, and acceptable firmness retention and weight loss, making it the most promising genetic material analyzed in this study. ? SourcesAn analysis of the postharvest behavior of four genetic materials of feijoa (Acca sellowiana Berg)Ana Cecilia Silveira & Fernanda ZaccariRev.Bras.Frutic. 45 ? 2023?https://www.scielo.br/j/rbf/a/Yv6XhgHDMbnMpQVbrKx3Y6w/https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-29452023974Picture,?Colorimetric Parameters and Pigments Content in Five Different PeelColors of Feijoa Fruit [Acca sellowiana (Berg) Burret]Fernanda Zaccari,?Marta Del Puerto,?Beatriz Vignale &?Clara PritschDecember 2017Agrociencia Uruguay 21(2):23-30https://www.researchgate.net/publication/321721131_Colorimetric_Parameters_and_Pigments_Content_in_Five_Different_PeelColors_of_Feijoa_Fruit_Acca_sellowiana_Berg_Burret