Dried ability evaluation of some plum and prune cultivar and genotypes

Background and objectives: Plums and Prune are important horticultural products in Iran and the world. Plums and Prune are used fresh or processed as dried fruits or snacks. The method of drying this product has been used for a long time with the aim of maintaining its quality and long-term storage and preventing spoilage and loss of its nutritional value. In the temperate and cold regions of Iran, different cultivars of plum and Prune are grown, and due to the high economic value of this product, it is necessary to check the quality of these cultivars in terms of their yield. The purpose of this research is to examine some varieties of plum and Prune in terms of dry fruit criteria, to study two traditional methods and the use of an oven, as well as skinned and skinless methods of preparing dried fruit from this product.
Materials and methods: In order to study the drying ability of 27 varieties of plum and Prune, a factorial experiments with three genotype factors, drying method with two levels of traditional method and use of oven and fruit skin factor with two levels with skin and without skin were used. Cultivars and genotypes were collected from cold and temperate regions of the country where this product is commonly cultivated. After the drying process, the key Variables related to the quality and value of the product, including dry fruit weight, Turgor Weight, Inflation percentage, soluble solids in fruit, soluble solids in fruit juice, total acidity fruit, pH of fruit juice, pH of fruit and antioxidant capacity Oxidant was evaluated. Then the data was analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical methods.
Results: The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of cultivar factor is significant at the probability level of 1% for all investigated traits. The effect of the skin factor for the traits of dry weight, Turgor Weight, soluble solids of fruit, soluble solids of fruit juice, pH of fruit and pH of fruit juice is significant at the probability level of 1%. Also, the effect of the drying method factor for the traits of dry weight, Turgor Weight, total acidity, soluble solids in fruit and fruit juice, pH of fruit and fruit juice, and antioxidant capacity was significant at the 1% probability level. The highest fruit weight in Shabloon Shahryar cultivar with dry fruit weight of 23.37 grams, the highest Turgor Weight in the same variety with a weight of 44.05 grams, the highest total fruit acidity in Shahroud genotype 12 with a value of 2.90% and the highest amount of soluble solids is 36.25 degrees Brix was observed in the fruit of Shabloon Shahryar cultivar. The average dry weight and soluble solids of the fruit were significant for different drying methods, but insignificant for the skin factor.
Conclusion: The traditional fruit drying process has worked better in maintaining the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of dried fruits. Also, the level of drying the skinless fruit has left better results in all investigated traits. Due to its high quality and quantity, the native cultivar Shabloon Shahryar has a suitable capacity for cultivation with the purpose of dried fruit harvest in the country.