Quality Components in Broccoli Heads Harvested at Different Stages of Maturity

The fresh edible portion of heads of four cultivars of broccoli was evaluated for various biochemical constituents at pre-harvest, harvest and post-harvest stages. Wide variation in quality parameters viz., moisture, protein, total lipids, carbohydrates, total chlorophyll, total carotenoids, ascorbic acid, total phenols, glucosinolates, calcium, iron, sodium, potassium and phosphorus content was observed to range from 89.09 to 89.49%, 2.08 to 2.71%, 183.3 to 196.9 mg/100g, 4.2 to 4.6%, 0.06 to 0.23 mg/g, 0.10 to 0.60 mg/g, 50.69 to 69.40 mg/100g, 0.58 to 0.89%, 125.5 to 249.2 mg/100g, 46.93 to 76.90 mg/100g, 0.70 to 1.10 mg/100g, 17.00 to 21.00 mg/100g, 117.31 to 318.00 mg/100g and 47.00 to 74.00 mg/100g at pre-harvest stage and 89.56 to 91.24%, 3.16 to 3.86%, 243.3 to 288.3 mg/100g, 5.4 to 5.6%, 0.13 to 0.42 mg/g, 0.36 to 1.40 mg/g, 58.80 to 81.31 mg/100g, 0.87 to 1.18%, 264.1 to 344.2 mg/100g, 54.00 to 79.88 mg/100g, 0.90 to 1.61 mg/100g, 23.00 to 26.00 mg/100g, 123.82 to 324.66 mg/100g and 52.00 to 79.00 mg/100g at harvest stage, accordingly. At post-harvest stage, variation in the above stated quality parameters was noticed from 88.44 to 87.78%, 3.02 to 3.75%, 228.6 to 276.6 mg/100g, 4.8 to 5.1%, 0.04 to 0.30 mg/g, 0.29 to 1.33 mg/g, 47.24 to 71.04 mg/100g, 1.32 to 1.49%, 250.1 to 329.8 mg/100g, 53.31 to 78.83 mg/100g, 0.90 to 1.60 mg/100g, 22.16 to 25.60 mg/100g, 122.00 to 324.50 mg/100g and 52.00 to 79.00 mg/100g, respectively. Based on genotypic rating at different harvest stages, the heads of cultivar(s) Palam Vichitra emerged to be the best followed by Palam Haritika, Palam Samridhi and Palam Kanchan and harvest stage (129 DAS) emerged out to be the best harvest stage.