Effect of apple growth pattern on fruit textural quality at harvest and after cold storage in cv. ‘Braeburn’

• Effect of growth pattern on fruit textural quality was studied.
• Growth kinetics were suitable to discriminate fruit quality at harvest.
• Relative growth rate seems to be determinant for juiciness and mealiness.

We have studied the effect of fruit growth pattern on apple (cv ‘Braeburn’) textural quality evaluated by near infra-red spectroscopy at harvest and by sensorial analysis with a trained panel both at harvest and after two months of cold storage. Fruit growth pattern was defined considering two main growth phases and using absolute and relative growth rate as growth parameters. Fruit with similar size at harvest, as well as fruit with low absolute growth rate during cell division and high relative growth rate during cell expansion exhibited significant differences in juiciness score at harvest and a significant increase in mealiness after storage. Results obtained by near infra-red spectroscopy tended to confirm the effect on juiciness at harvest. Different hypotheses were proposed to explain these results in terms of cell size or cell wall proprieties. Though preliminary and subject to confirmation, these results tend to indicate that growth pattern could be used as an integrative indicator to discriminate textural fruit quality in apple.