Selection of Autumn/Winter Varieties of Raphanus sativus L. Suitable for Fresh Consumption
Article
Figures
Metrics
Preview PDF
Reference
Related
Cited by
Materials
Abstract:
Five varieties of Raphanus sativus L. commonly grown in the Chengdu region were compared with the aim of selecting those of high quality for cultivation of freshly consumable crops. Quality was assessed based on 13 post-harvest nutritional indices (including dry matter mass and the contents of Vc, soluble proteins, soluble solids, soluble sugars, reducing sugars, and pulp and peel cellulose), as well as appearance indices (for example, differences between pulp and peel color, pulp and peel firmness, and peel toughness). Statistical analyses, including correlation tests and factor evaluation, revealed that the soluble solids, cellulose, Vc, and soluble protein contents of the pulp, as well as differences in the color value L* could serve as five key indices for evaluating the suitability of a variety for fresh consumption. The weights of these indices were determined based on an analytic hierarchy process as follows: 49.81%, 26.39%, 13.71%, 6.09%, and 4.00%, respectively. The overall quality of the five selected varieties was ranked according to gray correlation results, which indicated that the variety ‘Hei Ye Chun Bu Lao’ possessed the best quality in terms of fresh consumption. Among the assessed varieties, it was found that although two conventional varieties showed superior overall quality with respect to fresh consumption, the three hybrid varieties could be characterized by better field yields.
