Association between Physico Biochemical Parameters of Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) cv. Umran under Cold Storage

Aim: The objective of the study was to examine the relationship between the physical and biochemical attributes of Indian jujube or ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) cultivar Umran, affected by treatments applied after harvest and stored under cold storage conditions.

Place and Duration: This investigation was conducted at Horticulture Department of SKN Agriculture University, Jobner in the month of February to March, 2019.

Methodology: The fruits treated with calcium chloride (CaCl2) (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%) and gibberellic acid (GA3) (20, 40 and 60ppm) while being maintained in cold storage. The experiment was carried out utilizing a Completely Randomized Design (CRD), consisting of seven treatments and three replications. The study evaluated multiple attributes of fruits, such as physiological weight loss, marketability, pulp percentage, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total sugars and reducing sugars.

Results: The correlation analysis revealed a highly significant positive correlation between the weight of the fruit and various quality measures, such as marketability (r = 0.959), pulp percent (r =0.846), total soluble solids (r =0.947), titratable acidity (r =0.998), ascorbic acid (r =0.991), total sugars (r =0.980) and reducing sugars (r =0.963). While, a strong negative association was observed between the fruit's weight and PLW (r =-0.947). The linear regression model provides additional evidence for this relationship revealed that changes in fruit weight were responsible for a substantial amount of the differences observed in the evaluated quality attributes. The values of the coefficients of determination (r²) varied between 0.747 and 0.996.

Conclusion: The strong correlations and regression model provide valuable insights for improving post-harvest handling and storage practices, leading to enhanced preservation of fruit quality during cold storage.