Physicochemical Attributes and Their Relationship with Organoleptic Properties of Fruits of Quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) Genotypes Collected From Different Regions of Iran

Due to several reasons such as firmness and high astringency, the fruits of quince are rarely used as table fruit, however, there are genotypes that produce fruits for table fruits. Considering this issue, in current research, the organoleptic properties and their relationship with physicochemical attributes of fruits of quince genotypes collected from different regions of Iran were evaluated in Karaj, Iran. The organoleptic properties included aroma, juiciness, sensory firmness, astringency and taste of pulp, while physical fruit firmness, pH, TSS, TA were also evaluated as physicochemical attributes. Means of physicochemical attributes were: physical fruit firmness with 12.6 kg/cm2, TSS with 16.2 °Brix and TA equivalent to 9.8 mEq/mg titratable acids. Fruits of quince genotypes originated from Kashan region, especially KVD4, with physical fruit firmness as high as 15.3 kg/cm2 had the firmest fruit texture. On the contrary, the fruit of genotypes originated from Guilan region, in general, had the softest fruits texture. TSS in all genotypes ranged from 14-19 °Brix, but similarly the fruits of Guilan region had the lowest TSS levels. PH2 and SVS2 genotypes had the highest TSS that could be the main reason that they gained highest sensory values in the organoleptic tests. The organoleptic tests demonstrated that sensory values were highest in the fruits of genotypes originated from Isfahan plain; in this case the highest sensory values were evaluated in fire blight susceptible genotype, KM1, followed by NB4 and Isfahan cultivar. The lowest sensory values were scored in Guilan genotypes, and AS2 genotype demonstrated the lowest scores. Fruit firmness by sensory evaluation were significantly correlated with physical firmness. Correlation analysis also showed that the total score of fruit in organoleptic tests were significantly and positively correlated with all of the organoleptic properties, except fruit astringency. It is concluded that the quince genotypes originated from Isfahan province are the most important genetic resources for selection and breeding of new quince cultivars, both for growth and bearing habit purposes as reported in the previous works as well as for fruit quality based on the results reported in this research.