Maturity Indices of Aonla Cultivars under Rainfed Conditions of Shivalik Foothills of Himalayas

An investigation was conducted during 2012 and 2013 to study the fruit developmental stages pertaining to quality characteristics for fixation of maturity standards in three aonla cultivars viz., NA-6, NA-7 and NA-10 under rainfed conditions of Jammu subtropics, India. The results of the present investigation revealed that various physical and quality parameters were very useful in fixing maturity standards in aonla. Fruits were harvested at different maturity periods at weekly intervals and were evaluated for different physicochemical characteristics. It was observed that initially fruit growth was faster and slowed down between first week of November to last week of November and increased thereafter and followed a double sigmoid growth pattern in all the three aonla cultivars. Fruit weight of aonla ranged from 0.8 to 36.5 g in NA6, 0.93 to 36.55 g in NA7 and 0.54 to 32.55 g in NA10. Specific gravity did not show any specific trend at different maturity stages in all the cultivars. TSS, sugar, and TSS/acid ratio increased as the fruits reached toward maturity. Titratable acidity and chlorophyll content showed decreasing trend. In all cultivars, ascorbic acid increased during development and remained constant till fruits attained physiological maturity. The ideal time for harvesting of aonla was found to be the last week of December and first week of January depending on cultivar.