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Effect of soil nutrition on the organoleptic quality of organically grown apples (CV. Golden deliciuos)

This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.
This paper was not found in any repository; the policy of its publisher is unknown or unclear.

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Abstract

In organic apple production only organic fertilizers can be used to supply the soil with nitrogen. In organic fertilizers the mineralization process, needed to provide the plants with the required amount of available nitrogen, tends to be slower than in the synthetic counterparts. This in turn may adversely affect flavour formation in the fruit, even though little is known about the effect of nitrogen soil nutrition on biogenesis of sensory related compounds. Different organic fertilizers are presently used for organic apples production in the Region of Trentino Alto Adige, which is particularly well-suited to the growing of high-quality fruit and currently provides more than 60% of organic apple production in Italy. The aim of the present study was to assess the influence of the use of different commercial organic fertilizers on the organoleptic quality of cv. Golden Deliciuos apples and to compare it with the use of a common synthetic fertilizer. Fruits grown in experimental fields by using three distinct organic fertilizers were considered: Azocor 105 (both animal and vegetable origin), Agrobiosol (fungal biomass) and compost + biogas slurry. In addition fruits from a plot without the use of fertilizer (“control”) and a plot where a mineral fertilizer (“ammonium sulphate”) was used, were examined for comparison. The rate of N application was normalized for all fertilizers. In addition, only for Azocor 105, two different N rates were tested. On all fruit samples volatile aroma compounds were determined by a SBSE-GC-MS method, whereas organic acids and sugars were quantified by HPLC methods. A sensory profile, including 14 descriptors, was evaluated by a panel of 10 assessors, all with high expertise in fresh fruit sensory analysis. The effects of fertilization on the sensory and chemical profiles were evaluated by multivariate analysis techniques. The relationships between sensory attributes and chemical profiles were also investigated. Small differences were observed in the volatile compounds concentration of apple fruits in relation to the fertilizer used and N application rate. Moreover, these differences were often overshadowed by differences observed between apples from different field replicates within the same fertilization treatment. Notwithstanding, PCA gave some important indications. The apples from the organic plot with the highest rate of N application and those from the plot with mineral fertilization showed higher concentration of apple key odorants, hexyl acetate and butyl acetate. The level of these compounds was low in the apples from not fertilized trees, although they showed a high concentration of 2-methyl-butyl acetate, another main aroma compound of apple. No significant correlation was found between sensory odor and flavor attributes and volatile compounds.