Non-Destructive Studies of Fruit by NMR - Imaging

Cactus pear fruit cv 'Gialla' were harvested 70, 85 and 100 days after flowering and singolarly analysed by magnetic resonance imaging (NMR-I) before and after storage. Weigted T1, T2 and Proton Density Images resulted useful to establish fruit ripening stage and keeping quality during storage. NMR-I of stored fruit allowed to identify early internal physiological disorders and structural changes affecting fruit quality. In addition the non-destructive anlysis permitted to establish the optimal harvesting time according to storage conditions and duration.