Effect of Nitrogen De-Astringency Treatment on Five Persimmon Varieties: A Comparative Study

Khan and Shaukat, 2006). Among these delicious fruits, persimmon (Diospyros kaki), a highly appraised fruit crop that is mostly grown in the temperate areas particularly in Swat, Dir, and Shangla districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province.Where, its production plays a key role in the economy of Abstract | Persimmon is one of the major fruit grown in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.However, the short shelf-life of persimmon and texture loss after ripening create challenges for traders and processor during storage.Therefore, current study was designed to check the effect of nitrogen (N 2 ) de-astringency treatment on physicochemical and sensory attributes of five different persimmon cultivars (Fuyu, Hachiya, Great Wall, Maru, and Rojo Brillante).The five groups of persimmon varieties were exposed to modified atmosphere condition of 99.99% N 2 for 96 hours at 30 ± 1 o C. The untreated and treated persimmons were stored for 6 days at 5 o C until analyzed for physicochemical and organoleptic characteristics.The results are mean of three replicates, separated using least significance difference (LSD) test and statistically analyzed at P ≤ 0.05.The results indicate that a significant difference in physicochemical and sensory characteristics was observed among the five varieties.Hachiya variety showed the highest length, width, volume, mass, water activity, titratable acidity, and reducing sugar.Whereas, Rojo Brillante showed the highest density and pH, Fuyu showed the highest soluble solids and non-reducing sugar, Maru showed the highest firmness, and Great Wall showed the highest total phenol content.Furthermore, variation was observed in the responses of varieties to N 2 de-astringency treatment.Overall, Hachiya showed the best response with satisfactory physicochemical characteristics and high score for sensory characteristics followed by Fuyu variety.The results provide unique insight into the varietal differences and varying response to N 2 de-astringency treatment.Further researches should explore the molecular level basis to clearly understand the way changes occur in varieties after N 2 treatment.