Biochemical profiling in pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivar ‘Bhagawa’

The investigation on biochemical profiling in pomegranate cultivar ‘Bhagawa’ was carried out at experimental orchards located at ICAR-NRCP, Solapur. Fruit size, total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, total phenolics, total and reducing sugars, total anthocyanin and ascorbic acid contents were measured at various fruit developmental stages. Significant increase in total soluble solids, sugar content, total anthocyanins and ascorbic acid was observed, however, there was significant decrease in total phenolic content and titratable acidityas the fruits advanced to maturity (MS1 to MS5 stage).The ratio of TSS/TA is an important factor for deciding fruit maturity. Moreover, the significant increase in TSS/TA ratio from second to third and fourth to fifth maturity stages (MS2 to MS3 and MS4 to MS5) was observed due to increment in TSS and decrement in titratable acidity. A correlation matrix revealed significantly (P<0.05) strong relationships among almost all the parameters assessed. TSS showed positive correlationwith pH (0.682) and strong negative correlation (r =-0.882) with TA. TSS was also found to be strongly correlated with total sugars, reducing sugars and anthocyanins. Though, total phenolic contentwas negatively correlated with other variables except titratable acidity. Therefore, right proportions of these biochemical constituents could serve as reliable maturity markers to determine optimum fruit quality and fruit readiness for harvest.