title: Correlation between sensory and instrumental measurements of standard and crisp-texture southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L. interspecific hybrids).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fruit texture is a primary selection trait in southern highbush blueberry (SHB) breeding to increase fresh fruit postharvest quality and consumer acceptance. A novel crisp fruit texture has recently been identified among SHB germplasm. In this study, we developed a common set of descriptors that align sensory evaluation of blueberry fruit texture with instrumental measures that could be used for quantitative measurements during pre- and postharvest evaluation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sensory and instrumental characteristics were measured in 36 and 49 genotypes in 2010 and 2011, respectively. A trained sensory panel evaluated fresh fruit based on five common textural attributes in 2010 and 2011: bursting energy, flesh firmness, skin toughness, juiciness and mealiness. Instrumental measures of compression and bioyield forces were significantly different among cultivars and correlated with sensory scores for bursting energy, flesh firmness and skin toughness (R > 0.7, except skin toughness in 2011), but correlations with sensory scores for juiciness and mealiness were low (R < 0.4).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results of sensory and instrumental measures supported the use of both compression and bioyield force measures in distinguishing crisp from standard-texture genotypes, and suggest that crisp texture in SHB is related to the sensory perception of bursting energy, flesh firmness and skin toughness.
authors.affiliation: Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
authors.forename: Kendra M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Blaker
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Plotto
authors.forename: Elizabeth A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Baldwin
authors.forename: James W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Olmstead
mesh_terms: D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D003433:Crosses, Genetic; D005431:Florida; D005513:Food Inspection / Q000379:methods*; D063427:Food Quality; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D006244:Hardness; D006801:Humans; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D019441:Plant Epidermis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012677:Sensation; D062211:Spatio-Temporal Analysis; D013045:Species Specificity; D013649:Taste; D029796:Vaccinium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000254:growth & development; D014867:Water / Q000032:analysis
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: Vaccinium corymbosum; bioyield; compression force; firmness; southern highbush blueberry; texture