Quality Attribute Changes in Intact and Fresh-Cut Honeydew Melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) cv. ‘Honey World’ during Storage

Abstract

Honeydew melon (Cucumis melo var. inodorus) cultivar ‘Honey World’ is grown commercially in Thailand for its fruit. The purpose of this study was to investigate the quality changes in intact and fresh-cut ‘Honey World’ melon fruit during storage. The intact fruit were stored at room temperature (27 ± 2 °C) for 21 d and the fresh-cut fruit were stored at 4 ± 2 °C for 9 d. Weight loss, texture, electrolyte leakage, flesh color, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), pH and TSS/TA ratio were determined. Marked loss of texture was detected in both the intact and the fresh-cut fruit throughout storage. The weight loss and electrolyte leakage of both the intact and fresh-cut fruit increased during storage. In the intact fruit, lightness and hue angle remained constant throughout storage. An increase in the whiteness index and a decrease in chroma were detected during storage. In the fresh-cut fruit, the lightness, whiteness index and chroma declined and hue angle remained constant throughout storage. The total soluble solids content of both the intact and fresh-cut fruit increased and then remained constant over storage. The titratable acidity and pH of both the intact and fresh-cut fruit remained constant during storage. The TSS/TA ratio of the intact fruit declined slightly at day 21 and that of the fresh-cut fruit increased at day 6 and remained constant during storage. In conclusion, a marked loss of texture was found and might be the key factor affecting the quality of both the intact and fresh-cut ‘Honey World’ melon fruit when compared to other parameters.