ABSTRACT
Relationship between mineral content and fruit quality attributes firmness, size and weight of three sweet cherry cultivars

Juan Hirzel1* and Jose Diaz2
 
The popularity and importance of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is reflected in consumer preference, growing prices, and seasonal availability. Chile is the third worldwide producer with the largest area planted in cherry trees, and its main cultivars are Santina, Lapins and Regina. Fruit quality attributes such as weight, size and firmness, could also have a relation to better mineral nutritional composition. A study with these cultivars during season 2023-2024 showed that cherry firmness values fluctuated between 250 and 350 g mm-1, being highest in ?Regina?, followed by ?Lapins? and then ?Santina?. The fruit size fluctuated between 31 and 33 mm, and weight fluctuated between 13.0 and 14.2 g, and both were higher in ?Lapins? with no difference between the other two cultivars. There was a higher concentration of Ca, Mg, Mn and B in ?Lapins? and higher concentration of S in ?Santina?. The correlations of nutrients in fruits were not consistent between the three cultivars, and slight N-P and K-B correlation was found. Firmness of the fruits of the three cultivars presented a positive correlation with the concentration of N, and in two of the cultivars (Lapins and Regina) there was a correlation with the concentration of P. The DM content did not present a correlation with firmness, size or fruit weight in any of the three sweet cherry cultivars. Finally, as expected, there was a high positive correlation between size and fruit weight.
Keywords: Fruit mineral composition, fruit quality attributes, Prunus avium, sweet cherry.
1Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA Quilamapu, Chillan, Chile.
2Empresa ALSU, Carretera Panamericana Sur km 190, Curico, Chile.
*Corresponding author (jhirzel@inia.cl).