IMPACT OF PEEL COLORATION ON INTERNAL QUALITY OF KINNOW MANDARIN (Citrus nobilis Lour x Citrus deliciosa Tenora) AT EARLY RIPENING STAGE

At earlier maturation, Kinnow mandarin color-break fruits were analyzed for internal quality. Ten fruits were harvested from dark green to fully red or yellow colored at field on visual observation and arranged in order of dark green to deep red or yellow through Chroma meter after being numbered as 1 to 10. Triplicated determinations of all samples were analyzed. In red colored fruits juice, a decreasing trend of titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and TDS was found with increasing pattern of sugars, TSS and pH. Similarly in peel, less chlorophyll and more carotenoids were recorded in red colored fruits. Total phenolic contents in juice remained constant with declining trend in peel from green to red colored fruits. In juice both flavonoids and flavonols were constant while in peel flavonols increase was noted in red colored fruits. Total anthocyanins showed an increasing trend in red colored fruit for both, the peel and juice. Antioxidant activity was increased in juice and decreased in peel for red colored fruits. Nutritional values of green color peel fruits are alike those of red colored, but less sugars, reduced sweetness were duly noted regarding their domestic consumers acceptance. Green color fruits have more ascorbic acid, polyphenols and reducing sugars are equally valuable like red colored produce, which is especially good for the purpose of export