Fruit quality evaluation of affirmed and local loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl) cultivars using instrumental and sensory analyses

Introduction. Fruit quality can be evaluated by combining instrumental and sensory analyses. These methodologies have been affirmed and tested on different fruit tree species, but loquat is still little known from this point of view. Materials and methods. In this trial, conducted in Palermo and Catania (Sicily, Italy), both instrumental and sensory analyses were carried out on fruit of 8 loquat affirmed cultivars ('Golden Nugget', 'Peluche') and local cultivars ('Marcenò', 'Sanfilippara', 'Nespolone di Trabia', 'Virticchiara', 'Bianco Dolce' and 'BRT20') with the aim of assessing their quality traits. Results and discussion. The sensory results agreed quite well with the physicochemical data. Among the affirmed cultivars both 'Peluche' and 'Golden Nugget' confirmed their commercial value expressing a good overall fruit quality. On the other hand, the local Sicilian cultivars have very interesting physical, chemical and sensory profiles. Conclusion. The results indicated the goodness of this approach in evaluating loquat fruit quality and proved that not only the affirmed loquat cvs but also the local ones had very interesting qualitative features.