Determination of Maturity Indices for Harvesting of ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.)

Indian jujube or ber (Ziziphus mauritiana Lamk.) is an important hardy underutilised fruit crop of arid and semi-arid regions of India, symbolizing the production at a minimal cost. Ber fruits are potent source of nutritional as well as medicinal values and are generally consumed fresh. Ber fruits follow non-climacteric respiratory pattern. Fruits that are allowed to ripen on the tree typically have a limited shelf life and the ideal results are obtained if they are picked before the onset of ripening. Fruit harvesting at the appropriate stage of maturity is critical for both quality control and marketing. The time taken by ber fruit to mature from fruit set to maturity depends upon cultivar as well as location. Immature fruits lack desirable sweetness and flavour while over ripe fruits quickly lose their attractiveness and crispiness with slimy texture. Hence, an experiment was conducted to determine the optimum maturity indices for harvesting Indian jujube during 2019-20. Cultivar selected for this experiment was Narendra Ber Selection-2. The fruits on tagged current season shoots were harvested 21, 36, 51, 66, 81, 96, 111, 126, 141, 156, 171 and186 days after fruit setting. Fruit colour, shape, specific gravity, total soluble solids (%), T.S.S.: Acid ratio and organoleptic score of fruits were recorded at 15 days interval after fruit set. The results revealed that ber fruit of cultivar NBS-2 matures for harvesting between 171 to186 days after fruit setting i.e., between 29th February to 15th March when fruits attain yellowish to green colour, 0.95-0.92 specific gravity, ovate shape,17.29-17.94 T.S.S. and 123.72-128.37 T.S.S.: Acid ratio with organoleptic score of 7.5 to 8.0 range.