Postharvest monitoring and consumer choice on traditional and modern apricot cultivars

Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) fruit qualities are affected by harvest date and rapid off-tree ripening progression that limits their shelf life and marketability. Nowadays, consumers are generally dissatisfied with the sensory quality of apricot fruit sold on large-scale retail channels. Pomological analysis (color, firmness, total soluble solids, and total acidity), volatile organic compounds fingerprint and sensory evaluation were performed during the postharvest in two different apricot genotypes with the objective to: (1) characterize and compare two different apricot cultivars at harvest and at different postharvest times; (2) understand how the sensory quality changes during the postharvest process; (3) elucidate which sensory quality parameters drive the consumer's choice. For this purpose, 'Portici' (traditional cultivar) and 'Lady Cot' (modern one) grown in the same environment, were evaluated at commercial maturity harvest and for the following 15 days. Results indicate that the sensory quality of the selected cultivars was different, with 'Portici' showing better performances in terms of aroma, sweetness and juiciness, while 'Lady Cot' stood out in terms of firmness. Results also indicate a different trend of the traits analyzed and of the shelf-life, that was reduced for the traditional cultivar.