Jornal de Horticultura
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Pre-harvest Technology and Dynamics of Loquat Fruit Ripening

Hafiz Muhammad Shoaib Shah1*, Abdul Waheedb2,, Mudassar Anwar Buttc3

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) fruit is famous for its taste and rich source of phenolics, flavonoids, sugars, carotenoids and different acid contents. It is non-climacteric fruit grown under sub-tropical and tropical conditions. There are two distinct cultivars including white and yellow-flesh with variable fruit biochemical composition and growth pattern. Different preharvest factors like soil, climate, rootstock, fruit bagging, pruning, water application, nutritional management and mulching have distinct effect on fruit quality. There is series of physical, biochemical and physiological changes in fruit ripening. Sugar accumulation, phenolic and carotenoid biosynthesis, organic acid metabolism and different volatile compounds are main indicators of fruit harvest maturity. Ethylene biosynthesis and respiration patterns also contribute the developmental process. To increase fruit size and improved quality, many chemicals especially plant growth regulators have been applied. This review paper mainly covers the pre-harvest factors affecting fruit quality and metabolic dynamics of fruit ripening.