Ripening stage and drying method affecting colour and quality attributes of Ziziphus mauritiana fruits in Zimbabwe

Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk. (Ber) fruit is harvested at different stages of ripening in the Zambezi valley of Zimbabwe. We hypothesize that the organoleptic quality attributes of fruits depend on post-harvestdrying method and ripening stage at harvest. This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of different stages of ripening on the quality of Z. mauritiana fruits during drying. The fruits were graded into green, yellowish-brown and brown categories and these formed the treatments. Some of these fruits were blanched before drying for 1, 2 and 3 weeks under the solar dryer and the open sun drying methods. The green fruits lost significantly (

Blanching and drying period affect moisture loss and vitamin C content in Ziziphus mauritiana (Lamk.)

Wider utilization of Ziziphus mauritania (Lamk) Ber fruits in sub-Saharan Africa is hindered by the rapid deterioration of the fresh fruits and darkening of sun-dried fruits. This study was undertaken todetermine the effect of pre-drying treatment, drying method and the subsequent duration of storage on the quality attributes of Z. mauritiana fruits harvested from the Zambezi Valley. The vitamin C contentwas high at the beginning of the drying period and progressively decreased as the drying increased, and was lowest at three weeks for all drying methods. Effect of drying method was not significant (P >0.05). The purity (chroma) and lightness (value) of fruit colour decreased (P < 0.001) with increasing drying duration irrespective of the drying method. Blanching fruits before drying significantly (P< 0.001) decreased the colour chroma of the fruits (6.4) in comparison with non-blanched fruits (6.6). Further work to determine the causes of darkening in drying Z. mauritiana fruits and sensory evaluations todetermine the level of darkening that is acceptable to consumers is warranted

Storage temperature affects fruit quality attributes of Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) in Zimbabwe

Fruit utilization is affected by quality attributes and shelf life. The quality of Jujube or Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) fruits after harvest depends on storage conditions used. In this study, different storage temperatures and durations were evaluated to determine the appropriate storage conditions of fresh fruits of Z. mauritiana. Three storage temperature levels, low (5oC), intermediate (15oC) and ambient (22oC) were evaluated at 3, 6, 9 and 12 weeks storage durations. Fruits stored at low temperature lost only 48% of their weight during the entire 12 week storage period while the fruits stored in the ambient and intermediate temperature ranges lost 70 and 75% of weight, respectively. At three weeks of storage, more than 40% of fruits had shrivelled under the ambient and intermediate storage temperatures compared to only 3% under the low storage temperature. It is concluded that cold storage condition can prolong the shelf life of Z. mauritiana fruits