POSTHARVEST SENSORY AND PHYSICOCHEMICAL ATTRIBUTES OF HONEY DEW MELON FRUITS

Physicochemical and sensory attributes of fully mature honey dew melon (Cucumis melo L. var. inodorus Naud.) fruits were evaluated 10 days after storage for eight commercial cultivars grown in two locations. Cultivars varied in degree of preference expressed by panelists' ratings for overall fruit preference, flavor, and shape and for physicochemical measurements of soluble solids concentration (SSC), flesh firmness, and fruit weight. The sensory attribute that correlated most strongly with overall fruit preference was fruit flavor (r = 0.97). The whiteness of epidermal tissue (rind L value) and SSC correlated more highly with overall fruit preference (r = 0.54 and r = 0.52, respectively) than other physicochemical attributes, such as fruit firmness (r = -0.24) and fruit weight (r = -0.12). Epidermal L value correlated more strongly with panelists' ratings for fruit shape (r = 0.69) than with fruit flavor (r = 0.35), but SSC correlated more strongly with fruit flavor (r = 0.61) than with fruit shape (r = 0.30). Superior honey dew melon quality at harvest was associated with high SSC, white epidermal tissue, and round fruit shape.