Effects of different picking periods on nutritional qualities of watermelon

SHEN Hong; MENG Jiali; WU Shaojun; YANG Nianfu; ZHANG Lijie; ZHOU Lingling; TIAN Fufa; LIU Shuhua; YU Xiang

doi:10.16861/j.cnki.zggc.2024.0540

Abstract：To explore the changes and correlation of nutritional quality of watermelon fruit at different picking periods,Qianli No.4 was used as the experimental material,samples were taken starting from the appearance of mature character-istics in the fruit(25th day after pollination),every three days for a total of five times to measure various nutritional indi-cators of the fruit and conduct correlation analysis.The results showed that as the picking periods were postponed,the total sugar,soluble sugar,vitamin C and nitrate content of watermelon fruit showed a decreasing trend;the content of lyco-pene showed a trend of first increasing and then decreasing,with the highest content on the 28th day after pollination;the content of soluble protein showed a decreasing-increasing-decreasing-increasing trend,and sugar acid ratio showed a trend of first increasing,then decreasing,and then increasing again,both of which were highest on the 31st day after polli-nation;the content of citrulline showed a trend of first decreasing,then increasing again,with the highest content on the 25th day after pollination.The central soluble solids content were significantly positively correlated with soluble sugar,lycopene,and nitrate content.The flavor and texture of the fruit showed a decreasing trend from the 25th to the 37th day after pollination.In summary,the optimal harvesting period was from the appearance of mature characteristics in the fruit(25th day after pollination)to one week later(31st day after pollination).The content of soluble solids can be used to preliminarily evaluate nutritional quality indicators such as total sugar content and soluble sugar content.