TITLE:
Effect of Maturity Indices on Growth and Quality of High Value Vegetables
AUTHORS:
A. K. M. Quamruzzaman, Ferdouse Islam, Limu Akter, Sharmilla Rani Mallick
KEYWORDS:
Maturity Indices, Growth, Quality, High Value Vegetables, TSS, pH, Different Harvest Stages
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.13 No.7,
July
25,
2022
ABSTRACT: The study took place at Bangladesh Agricultural
Research Institute’s Olericulture Division’s research farm from March 2021 to
February 2022 (BARI). In a protected net house, we investigated the impact of
five different types of vegetables on
various maturation stages, including tomato, broccoli, sweet pepper, cucumber, and netted melon. Vegetables
cultivated under protected conditions
in a transparent poly-film net house can improve quality,
maturity, fruit size, and yield. When fruits and vegetables
are picked before they are fully mature, they may stay green for longer, but
they may not ripen to a satisfactory color
and flavor, resulting in a loss of consumer confidence. Furthermore, because fruit continues to grow until the harvest, immature fruit will be smaller than mature
fruit, reducing harvest yield. We tried to determine the right maturation stages in order to avoid
product loss during our
investigation. The tomato was found to be an appropriate size (6.5 cm length
and 6.2 cm diameter), weight (84 g), TSS (4.5 percent), pH (4.3), “turning red”, and “tasty” at the week 5 stage,
while the broccoli was found to be an appropriate size (12.0 cm length and 13.0
cm diameter), weight (360 g), and “green” color at the week 5 stage. At the
week 6 stage, the nettled melon was found to be of appropriate size (15.2 cm length and
14.5 cm diameter), weight (800 g), TSS (10.8 percent), pH (6.3), “net fully
developed” on the fruit skin and “much tasty,” while cucumber was found to be of appropriate size (8.8 - 10.8 cm length and 2.2 - 2.9 cm
diameter), weight (61 - 88 g), TSS (3.8 - 4.1 percent), pH (6.3), “less powdery”. As a result, establishing the optimal maturity of
our research will benefit both consumers and
growers.