Quality of cold stored lemon fruit from orchards consociated to ancient olive trees

Abstract

In the hilly area of Gioia Tauro (Calabria, Southern Italy), lemon orchards are grown in consociation with centuries-old olive trees. Lemons are partially shaded by olive canopies and the microclimate at the level of their canopies is suitable for plants growth and quality productions. Under these conditions, lemon trees are grown even without irrigation, providing, despite this limitation, a quality product. This study aimed to i) investigate the qualitative characterisation of two clonal selections of the lemon cultivar Femminello, F. Siracusano (S) and F. Zagara bianca (ZB), from the described intercropping, on irrigated (I) and non-irrigated (NI) crops; ii) assess the quality preservation during cold storage, in order to evaluate the availability of lemons for marketing in a period of shortage such as the summer season. Fruits were harvested at commercial maturity, and cold stored at 10±1°C and RH 85-90%, for 60 days. Decay incidence, physiological disorders, weight loss, and the main physical-chemical parameters were assessed at harvest (T0) and every 15 days (T15, T30, T45, T60). The absence of decay and physiological disorders was observed throughout the 60-day storage period, in both clonal selections under the two management conditions. The weight loss was greater in fruits from irrigated lemon groves of both S and ZB. S_I showed significantly lower fruits weight and higher titratable acidity than S_NI. Total soluble solids and titratable acidity were statistically lower for ZB_I than for NI fruits.