Comparison of Aroma Compounds and Pomological Characteristics of The Fruits of 'cv. Mondial Gala' and Local Apple Genotype 'Gelin' Cultivated in Canakkale, Turkey

Abstract

Volatiles directly affect the sensorial quality of fresh fruits and therefore consumer preferences. The types and concentrations of volatile compounds show great variability in different apple types and varieties. In this experiment some pomological characteristics and aroma potential of local apple genotype called 'Gelin' or 'Yazlik Elma' and commercial standard apple cultivar 'Mondial Gala' were evaluated. Fruit length and diameter (mm), fruit weight (g), soluble solid content (% Brix), pH, titratable acidity (malic acid ml 100 ml-1), skin and flesh color (L, hue, chroma) were investigated within scope of pomological characteristics. The identification of volatile constituents was performed by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometer (GC/MS) instrument by liquid-liquid extraction using diethyl ether solvent. The amount of the aroma volatile determined with a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer (Shimadzu QP2010 GC/MS) fitted with a DB-WAX column (30 m x 0.25 mm ID, 0.25 μm film thickness; J & W, USA). According to the obtained results, 23 volatile constituents including 9 aldehydes (45.56%), 7 esters (46.78%), 6 alcohols (6.85%), and 1 other compound (0.81%), were detected in 'Gelin' genotype; 20 volatile constituents including 6 esters (56.08%), 7 aldehydes (34.76%), 6 alcohols (8.13%) and 1 other compound (1.03%), were detected in 'Mondial Gala' cultivar. Aldehydes and esters are main volatiles to fruity and floral aroma especially for apples. Especially, E-2-Hexenal and acetaldehyde for aldehydes and butyl acetate and hexyl acetate for esters are the main volatile compounds detected for the fruits studied. The high contents of these compounds that give pleasant flavor and aroma in fruits play very important part in the preference of fruits by consumers. In addition, the 'Gelin' genotype population can represent a novel source of breeding materials for improvement of aroma characteristics of standard cultivars.