Chemical characteristics of fruits of some selected quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) cultivars

Abstract

The basic chemical characteristics of 22 quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) genotypes and cultivars were determined: dry matter content, soluble solid content, the contents of organic acids, pectins, and mineral elements (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and sodium). Quince fruits were harvested in the course of October and thereafter analysed at the stage of consumption ripeness after storage at the temperature of +2°C and a relative air humidity of 85%. The contents of pectins in fruits were high - the cultivar Hruškovitá contained 3.51 ± 0.19 g/100 g F W. The contents of vitamin C were also high, the cultivar Muškatová containing as much as 79.31 ± 2.01 g/100 g FW. The affinity of chemical properties of the individual cultivars was expressed by means of cluster analysis and it was found out that there were no marked differences between pear-shaped (Cydonia oblonga subsp. pyriformis) and apple-shaped (Cydonia oblonga subsp. maliformis) forms of fruit.