DISCRIMINATION OF POMEGRANATE FRUIT QUALITY BY INSTRUMENTAL AND SENSORY MEASUREMENTS DURING STORAGE AT THREE TEMPERATURE REGIMES

Discrimination of "Wonderful" pomegranate fruit quality was carried out by simulating storage duration at different temperature regimes. Commercially harvested fruits were stored at 5, 7.5 and 10C with 92% relative humidity for 4 months in order to determine suitable storage conditions based on the combination of instrumental and sensory measurements. Instrumental measurements such as aril texture, aril color, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), TSS : TA, juice content as well as total phenolics and anthocyanins were measured. Discriminant analysis showed that storage time rather than storage temperature led to the reduction in overall quality when storing fruits beyond 2 months. Based on sensory attributes, suitable storage temperature and duration at 5C for 2 months was when the overall flavor was highly rated. Furthermore, the proposed storage conditions was supported when instrumental measurements showed a reduction in the overall quality parameters after 2 months of storage.