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223
Agriculturae Conspectus Scienti cus . Vol. () No. (-)
PRELIMINARY COMMUNICATION
Summary
e quality of the eight local apple cultivars (‘Alvanija’, ‘Kardinal’, ‘Križara’,
‘Majdo ja’, ‘Muškatnica’, ‘Slastica’, ‘Slatka srčika’ and ‘Punika’) was studied. Cultivar
‘Kardinal’ had the highest fruit mass, and the cultivar ‘Slastica’ had the lowest. ere
was no signi cant di erence in fruit mass between the cultivars ‘Kardinal’ and
‘Majdo ja’. Cultivar ‘Alvanija’ had the highest fruit height and cultivar ‘Križara’ had
the smallest. Cultivar ‘Kardinal’ had the widest fruits, and cultivar ‘Križara’ had the
narrowest. Cultivar ‘Alvanija’ had the highest shape index, and cultivars ‘Križara’ and
‘Majdo ja’ had the lowest. e highest rmness had cultivars ‘Majdo ja’ and ‘Slastica’,
between which there was no statistically signi cant di erence. Cultivars ‘Kardinal’,
‘Križara’ and ‘Punika’ had signi cantly lower fruit rmness but still signi cantly
higher than cultivar ‘Muškatnica’. Cultivar ‘Slastica’ had the highest soluble solids
content, and cultivar ‘Križara’ had the lowest. Cultivar ‘Križara’ received signi cant-
ly lower panelist score for crispness, texture and juiciness than cultivar ‘Majdo ja’.
Cultivars ‘Kardinal’ and ‘Majdo ja’ received better scores for taste attributes than
other cultivars. Panelist scores for fruit shape and general impression were the highest
for the cultivars ‘Kardinal’ and ‘Mado ja’. ere was no signi cant di erence in pan-
elist scores for fruit size between these cultivars and cultivars ‘Alvanija’ and ‘Križara’.
It was concluded that the most promising cultivars are ‘Majdo ja’ and ‘Kardinal’.
However, to fully evaluate their potential, comparison with other cultivars in the
standard growing conditions during long-term research is needed.
Key words
Malus x domestica Borkh., fruit quality, sensory analysis, conservation, pomology,
biodiversity
Preliminary Results of Fruit Quality of
Eight Croatian Local Apple Cultivars
Tomislav JEM RIĆ ( )
Goran FRUK
Danijel ČIČEK
Martina SKENDROVIĆ BABOJELIĆ
Zoran ŠINDRAK
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Pomology,
Svetošimunska 25, HR – 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
e-mail: tjemric@agr.hr
Received: May 22, 2012 | Accepted: November 8, 2012
ACKNOWLEDGE MENTS
This work has been supported by SEEDNet project ‘Characterization of apple local varieties
(Malus × dome stica Borkh.) from South East European region’. We thank for financial
support.
Agric. conspec. sci. Vol. () No.
224 Tomislav JEMRIĆ, Goran FRUK, Danijel ČIČEK, Martina SKENDROVIĆ BABOJELIĆ, Zoran ŠINDRAK
Introduction
e range of apple cultivars in the European market is signi -
cantly reduced to no more than twelve cultivars (Hecke, 2006). In
contrast to this small number, there are many old apple cultivars
having a wide range in avour, aroma, sugar and acid-content
as well as phenolic compounds (Hecke et al., 2006). Consumers
indicated that avour, taste and texture were the main reason
for purchasing apples (Harker, 2002a). Internal quality ( avour,
taste, crispness, etc.) ranks above appearance in importance
among apple characteristics (Redalen, 1988).
Old apple cultivars are generally characterized by quite un-
usual pomological traits and have sometimes a lower external
appeal with respect to the standard apples (Bignami et a l., 2003).
Some of them, such as cultivar ‘Wagener’ have high yielding po-
tential (Mitre et al., 2009) that ma ke them excellent gene donors
for this trait. In comparison with other cultivars, they had the
higher rmness as well as total polyphenol and avonoid con-
tent (Hecke et al., 2006; Radunić et al., 2011). Polyphenols and
avonoids are important for prevention of cardiovascular dis-
eases and cancer (Kron and Williamson, 2005).
Apart from quality aspects, old cultivars serve as a stock
and a source of basic material for fruit breeding (Fischer and
Fischer, 2004; Mitre et al., 2009), especially for obtaining resist-
ance (Fischer and Fischer, 2004).
Croatian apple germplasm was quite unexplored until re-
cently. Radunić et al (2011) found old apple ‘Žrnovska’ in the
Mediterranean part of Croatia having better internal quality in
comparison to standa rd cultivars. Croatian territor y was exposed
to the di erent civilizations and culture in uences through the
long period in history (Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian
Empire, etc.). According to that there are certain assumptions
that in the region plant material was vastly mixed during long
time period. In the case of apple it is known that di erent empires
used to bring their own material to the newly ruled countries
and places. erea er apple germplasm from di erent origins
was also vastly mixed during long time. is makes Croatia an
important and unique biological reservoir of apple gene pool
in Europe. SEEDNet project funded by SIDA included partners
from eight countries with the aim of pomological description
and inventory of apple germplasm enabled research trips that
discovered nine new cultivars in Adžamovci, eight of which are
described in this paper.
To the best of our knowledge, cultivars studied in this research
have not been described any where else yet, so it is reasonable to
assume that they are native Croatian cultivars.
is paper brings rst preliminary pomological and fruit
quality data of these cultivars.
Materials and methods
Studied cultivars (‘Alvanija’, ‘Kardinal’, ‘Križara’, ‘Majdo ja’,
‘Muškatnica’, Punika’, ‘Slastica’ and ‘Slatka srčika’ ) have been
collected in near Adžamovci in the eastern Croatia. Trees were
gra ed on seedling rootstocks and, despite to age and the lack of
proper management practices, they were still in good condition.
A sample of randomly picked 30 fruits per cultivar was har-
vested. e fruits were transported to the laboratory and visually
inspected for damage and other defects. A er determining fruit
mass (expressed in g) on an analytical balance (Mettler Toledo
P1210) and pomometrical analysis [measuring fruit height and
width with a digital calliper (expressed in mm) and calculating
fruit shape index as height : width ratio], ten fruits were selected
for determining fruit rmness and soluble solids content (SSC).
e rest of 20 fruits were selected for sensory analysis.
Firmness (expressed in kg∙cm-2) was measured using E egi
FT 327 penetrometer with 11 mm probe as an average value
from four measurements made at opposite fruit sides at equa-
torial fruit zone.
e juice from each fruit was extracted with electric juicer
and was used for determination of SSC (expressed in °Brix) with
refractometer (ATAGO PAL-1, Japan) Mitcham et al. (1996).
Sensory analysis was performed according to Miller et al.
(2005). Crispness, texture, juiciness, sugar : acid ratio, aroma,
avour richness, general impression, shape, size and colour were
scored using a bipolar 5-point (1 to 5) hedonic scale. On the scale
the 1-unit intervals were considered: dislike, dislike slightly, like,
like very much, and like extremely.
Data analysis was conducted with SAS so ware, version 9.2
(SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA) using one way ANOVA and LSD
test at P≤0.05 level.
Results and discussion
Cultivar ‘Kardinal’ had the highest fruit mass, while ‘Slastica’
had the lowest (Table 1). ere was no signi cant di erence in
fruit mass between the cultivars ‘Kardinal’ and ‘Majdo ja’. Fruit
mass was comparable to results obtained for other old cultivars
published by Mitre et al. (2009).
Cultivar ‘Alvanija’ had the highest fruit height, and cultivar
‘Križara’ had the smallest. Between cultivars ‘Kardinal’ and
‘Punika’ there was no signi cant di erence in fruit height, as
well as among cultivars ‘Slatka srčika’, ‘Slastica’ and ‘Majdo ja’.
Cultivar ‘Kardinal’ had the widest fruits, and cultivar ‘Križara’
had the narrowest. Cultivar ‘Alvanija’ had the highest fruit shape
index, and cultivars ‘Križara’ and ‘Majdo ja’ had the lowest. ere
were no signi cant di erences in fruit shape index among cul-
tivars ‘Kardinal’, ‘Križara’, ‘Majdo ja’ and ‘Slatka srčika’. Fruit
size is a ected by exogenous (water availability and ambient
temperature), and endogenous factors (crop load and genetic
di erences) (Corelli Grappadelli and Lakso, 2004). e most im-
portant factors a ecting fruit size in this study were crop load
and genetic di erences since trees were grown in the same lo-
cation in similar growing conditions. Trees used for this study
were gra ed on seedling rootstock, which is vigorous and can
cause biennial bearing resulting with di erences in crop load
(Raese et al., 2007).
e highest fruit rmness had cultivars ‘Majdo ja’ and
‘Slastica’, between which there was no statistically signi cant
di erence. Cultivars ‘Kardinal’, ‘Križara’ and ‘Punika’ had sig-
ni cantly lower fruit rmness but still signi cantly higher than
cultivar ‘Muškatnica’. Firmness of this cultivar was only 3.92 kg
cm-2. is might be a result of overmaturity since rmness is
decreased as maturity increases (Iglesias et al., 2008). Another
contributing factor might be low crop load (Saei et al., 2011; De
Salvador et al., 2006).
Agric. conspec. sci. Vol. () No.
225
Preliminary Results of Fruit Quality of Eight Croatian Local Apple Cultivars
Cultivar ‘Slastica’ had the highest SSC, and cultivar ‘Križara’
had the lowest (Table 1). SSC was similar to other studies with old
apple cultivars (Mitre et al., 2009) but higher than in standard
cultivars (Iglesias et al., 2008). However, some modern stand-
ard cultivars, such as ‘Braeburn’ (Mikulič Petkovšek et al., 20 09)
and ‘Fuji Kiku 8’ (Drogoudi and Pantelidis, 2011) achieve SSC
values similar to those in our study. Beside genetic factor, the
di erences in crop load (De Salvador et al., 2006) might also
contribute to the di erences in SSC among cultivars.
Sensory analysis helps in characterization and evaluation
of apple germplasm giving supplementary information on fruit
quality. Such data helps in the evaluation of the level of accept-
ance and of the perception capacity of the distinctive traits of the
fruit by the consumer (Bignami et al., 2003). Cultivar ‘Križara’
had signi cantly lower panelist scores for crispness, texture and
juiciness than cultivar ‘Majdo ja’ (Table 2). Panelist scores for
the sugar : acidity ratio, aroma and avour richness were not
signi cantly di erent among cultivars due to the high variation
among panelists. Taste, aroma and freshness were in this order
the three most important attributes taken into account by con-
sumers when choosing an apple (Péneau et al., 2006). Beside
taste, avour and crispness are also important traits, ranking
above appearance in importance among apple characteristics
(Redalen, 1988). Despite of non-signi cant di erences, the trend
in panelist scores allows conclusion that cultivars ‘Kardinal ’ and
‘Majdo ja’ received better scores for taste attributes than other
cultivars. Panelist scores for the general impression and shape
were higher for cultivars ‘Kardinal’ and ‘Mado ja’. ere was
no signi cant di erence in panelist scores for fruit size between
these cultivars and cultivars ‘Alvanija’ and ‘Križara’.
Cultivars ‘Kardinal’, ‘Križara’ and ‘Majdo ja’ have received
the highest panelist scores for colour. ese cultivars have at-
tractive red colour, which might be a reason for such result
(Miller et al., 2005).
Conclusion
On the basis of this preliminary research, it can be concluded
that cultivars ‘Kardinal’ and ‘Majdo ja’ have the highest qual-
ity and might be good candidates for multiplication. e lowest
quality had cultivar ‘Križara’. However, to fully evaluate their
quality, comparison with other cultivars in the standard grow-
ing conditions during long-term research is needed. Ex situ
conservation and preparation for pomological and genotypic
characterization for the purpose of their preservation is cur-
rently under way.
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Cultivars Fruit mass
(
g
)
Fruit weight
(mm)
Fruit width
(mm)
Fruit shape index Fruit firmness
(k
g
∙cm-2)
Soluble solids
content (° Brix)
'Alvani
j
a' 165.81 b 79.08 a 69.49 b 1.14 a 7.05 bc 14.97 cd
'Kardinal' 209.85 a 65.63 b 85.23 a 0.77 d 5.98 c 15.47 bcd
'Križara' 120.80 cd 35.52 d 48.56 e 0.73 d 5.63 c 14.60 d
'Ma
j
dofi
j
a' 177.39 ab 52.46 c 71.93 b 0.73 d 11.33 a 16.87 ab
'Muškatnica' 86.54 ef 53.45 c 57.15 d 0.94 bc 3.92 d 16.35 abc
'Punika' 111.48 de 63.01 b 63.86 c 0.99 b 6.35 c 16.13 bcd
'Slastica' 75.15 f 50.25 c 56.07 d 0.90 c 10.93 a 17.90 a
'Slatka srčika' 147.71 bc 54.30 c 72.85 b 0.75 d 8.17 b 15.63 bcd
Pr > F <.0001 <.0001 <.0001 <.0001 <.0001 0.0090
Note: Means followed by the same letter do not differ significantly at P ≤ 0.05 according to LSD test
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y
ratio
Aroma Flavour
richness
General
im
p
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Shape Size Colour
'Alvani
j
a' 3.83 a 3.67 ab 2.92 bc 2.42 2.92 3.08 3.00 b 3.67 ab 3.92 a 3.75 ab
'Kardinal' 3.92 a 3.92 a 3.75 ab 4.00 3.75 4.08 4.00 a 4.00 a 4.25 a 4.17 a
'Križara' 2.50 b 2.33 c 2.08 c 2.83 3.42 3.42 2.83 b 3.00 bc 3.33 ab 4.17 a
'Ma
j
dofi
j
a' 4.00 a 3.83 ab 4.42 a 4.00 3.83 3.75 4.00 a 4.25 a 3.67 a 4.50 a
'Muškatnica' 3.75 a 3.33 ab 2.83 bc 3.33 2.92 2.83 3.00b 2.50 c 2.58 bc 2.25 c
'Punika' 3.50 a 3.17 abc 3.08 bc 2.83 3.25 3.17 3.25ab 2.50 c 2.67 bc 3.00 bc
'Slastica' 3.50 a 2.92 bc 2.58 bc 3.00 2.75 2.92 3.00b 2.75 c 2.33 c 3.08 bc
'Slatka srčika' 3.50 a 3.08 abc 3.33 ab 3.17 2.92 3.33 3.33ab 3.00 bc 3.25abc 3.08 bc
Pr > F 0.023 0.014 0.004 0.072 0.262 0.328 0.041 <0.0001 0.001 <.0001
Note: Means followed by the same letter do not differ significantly at P ≤ 0.05 according to LSD test
Table 1. Pomological and chemical characteristics of eight old Croatian apple cultivars
Table 2. Sensory quality of eight old Croatian apple cultivars
Agric. conspec. sci. Vol. () No.
226 Tomislav JEMRIĆ, Goran FRUK, Danijel ČIČEK, Martina SKENDROVIĆ BABOJELIĆ, Zoran ŠINDRAK
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