Maturity standards of fruits A Lecture by Mr Allah Dad Khan Former DG Agri Extension KPK/Visiting Professor the University of Agriculture Peshawar Pakistan

2. MATURITY STANDARDS
OF FRUITS AN
INDICATION
A LECTURE
BY
MR.ALLAH DAD KHAN

3. MATURITY
 It is the stage of fully development of tissue of
fruitand vegetables only after which it will
ripennormally
 During the process of maturation the fruit receivesa
regular supply of food material from the plant
 When mature, the abscission or corky layer
whichforms at the stem end stops this in ow
 Afterwards, the fruit depend on its own reserves

4. MATURITY
 In addition to this, typical avour and characteristiccolour also
develop

 It has been determined that the stage of maturity atthe time of
picking in uence the storage life andquality of fruit

 when picked immature like mango develop whitepatches or air
pockets during ripening and lackingin normal bri acid ratio or
sugar acid ratio, tasteand avor

 on the other hand if the fruits are harvested overmature or full
ripe they are easy susceptible tomicrobial and physiological
spoilage and theirstorage life is considerably reduce


5. MATURITY
 !uch fruits persist numerous problems during
handling, storage and transportation
 "herefore, it is necessary or essential to pick up
thefruits or vegetables at correct stage of maturity
tofacilitate proper ripening, distant transportation
andminimum storage life
 "he postharvest quality of the product is # ed atthe
harvest so proper harvesting is necessary
 We can have good harvest if we harvest at
propertime as the development of the fruits is at
laterstage of development

6. MATURITY
 Fruits harvested too early may lack favor and maynot
ripen Properly deteriorate
 while produce harvested too late may be #brous orhave
very limited market life %ield may also be lower
 Therefore harvesting of fruits and vegetables atproper
stage of maturity is of paramount importancefor attaining
desirable quality
 The maturity has been divided into two categories
i&e&physiological maturity and horticultural maturity&


7. HORTICULTURAL MATURITY/COMMERCIAL
MATURITY
 Stage of development when plant parts possess
thenecessary characteristics preferred by consumers
Depends on the intended use e&g& papaya.
 Physiolo!ical maturity
 Applies only to fruits and fruit vegetables and of
development stage
 Ability to ripen normally after harvest for distant market
and storage,
 climateric fruits should be harvested at maturitybefore
they are ripe i&e& before climateric rise )on climateric
fruits should be harvested at ripestage

8. IMPORTANCE OF MATURITYINDICES
 Maturity indices , harvest indices ,sensory and
nutritional quality.
 Adequate shelf life
 Facilitate marketing+ standards
 Productivity

9. MATURITY INDICES SHOULD BE
 simple, easy to carry out
 :b'ective vs sub'ective indicators
 Eelated to quality
 Eelated to storage life
 Eepresents a progressive change withmaturity
 Premits prediction of maturity from year toyear
 inexpensive

10. LIMITATIONS OF MATURITY INDICES USES
 Soil conditions, nutrition, irrigation
 Season , climate
 Position on the plant
 Pruning and other cultural practices and
management practices
 varieties

11. APPLE
 1. Elapsed days from bloom to harvest (100–110
days) and development of abscission layer 2.
Textural properties – Firmness, tenderness, starch
and sugar content 3. Burst of internal ethylene
production

12. APRICOT
 Colour of externalsurface area >3/4 yellowish green
or>1/2 yellow

13. AVOCADO
 17-20.5 % dry weight (depending on cultivar)

14. BANANA
 1. Bunches are harvested when the top leaves
starts drying 2. Change in color of the axis of the
fingers dark green to light green 3. Brittleness of the
floral ends should fall with slight touch - 146 -
Postharvest Management of Fruit and Vegetables
in the Asia-Pacific Region 4. Changes in the
angularity of fingers from triangular to round or
sharp 5. Number of days from emergence of
inflorescence: 95–110 days 6. Pulp to skin ratio –
120:1.2 7. Use of rings appropriate to variety

15. BER
 In ber maturity is judged by colour (yellow), specific
gravity (less than 1) and TSS

16. CHERRY
 Entire surface solid light –red and 14 to 16 %SS (
Depending on Cultivar)

17. CITRUS
1. Change in color (green to orange)
2. Days from blooming
3. Ease of separation
4. Seed-color (green to brown)
5. Starch content
6. Change in organic acid
7. Rate of respiration
8. Juice content (>50%

18. GRAPES
 1. Heat unit concepts, e.g., 3200–3600 photo
thermal units 2. Appearance of bloom on the berries
3. Color and condition of stem cluster 4. Taste -
Brix-acid ratio 30–35 5. Composition of juice thick
and consistent with 18–22% TSS 6. For raisins TSS
should be 24–28%. 7. Compact clusters for table
purpose, e.g., Thompson Seedless

19. MANGO
 1. Slight color development of the shoulder or
fullness of the shoulders; change in color pedicel
from green to brown 2. Growth of the fibers on the
stone/corrugations 3. Flow of latex from the stalk
ex: faster drying latex 4. Summation of days taken
from flowering to maturity by tagging flowers 5.
Appearance of bloom on the surface of the fruits 6.
Computation of heat units or cumulative degree
days 7. Change in lenticel morphology 8. Specific
gravity of 1.0–1.02 for Alphonso and pairi

20. PEAR
 Yellowish green colour

21. PLUM
 Surface colour and flesh firmness ( Depending on
cultivar)

22. PERSIMON
 Yellowish Green to orange colour ( Depending on
cultivar)

23. POMEGRANATE
 Red juice colour and below 1.85 % acid in juice.
 Sugar percentage should be 12-16% and acid
percentage 1.5—2.5%, variety Ganesh harvest
when seed colour becomes pink. In this stage TSS
12.5% and sugar acid ratio 19.5%.

24. PINEAPPLE
 1. When fruits show signs of yellowing 2. High TSS
and low acidity (TSS 13%; acidity 0.5–0.6%) 3. Tips
of the bracts projecting at the eyes start drying 4.
Acid ratio 21–27 and specific gravity 0.98–1.02.5.
When it emits a strong flavor, attains characteristic
size and a translucent appearance 5. Summation of
days – 4½ to 5½ month and may be judged by
snapping with fingers

25. PAPAYA
 Green for pickling and for the preparation of candy
2. Firm green, with moisture of 86% and TSS
10.67% 3. Ripe 33% for long distance market and
85.5%, color development for local market 4.
Harvested when fruit show signs of yellow to purple
color