María Teresa Martínez Damián

Characterization of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) fruits from outstanding Mexican selections.

Fruits of five regional selections of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) were characterized to identify those with international marketing quality to promote their propagation in Mexico, improvement and conservation in germoplasm bank. The fruits were harvested in June, July, and August 2008 and, after each harvest, were assessed for shape (length/diameter), firmness, fruit weight, number of fruits per kilogram, weight and percentage of pericarp, seed and aril, total soluble solids, total sugars, vitamin C content, pH, and titratable acidity. In addition, a sensorial evaluation was carried out with 31 panelists who graded each selection for color, sweetness, and acidity. Fruits of five selections were ovoid, and with the following characteristics: firmness values from 43.7 to 51.0 N, fruit weight ranged from 22.4 to 34.7 g, registering from 28.9 to 45.0 fruits per kg; pericarp weight from 10.5 to 17.3 g (45.9 to 49.9% of the total fruit weight); total seed weight from 2.2 to 2.5 g (7.0 to 10.0%); average arils weight from 8.9 to 13.1 g (37.5 to 41.4%). The fruits had high contents of total soluble solids (17.8 to 20.4 oBrix), total sugars (211.95 to 242.70 mg/100g in the edible portion), vitamin C (37.9 to 69.1 mg/100 g), pH 5.0, and titratable acidity of 0.20 to 0.28%. The fruits from the RT-01 and RT-05 selections had better attributes in fruit weight, total soluble solids and titratable acidity and were better accepted by the panelists. Harvest date significantly affects rambutan fruit quality; at the middle and end of the season harvested fruits had better qualitative characteristics for the marketing.