Physico Chemical Quality Analysis of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Ecotypes Fruits under Different Management Practices in Harari Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Physico Chemical Quality Analysis of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Ecotypes Fruits under Different Management Practices in Harari Region, Ethiopia

Mekonnen Tensaw¹*, Tigist Taddese², Kebede WoldeTsadik² ,and Chala Lemma¹

1 . Oda Bultum University, College of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture,Chiro ,Ethiopia.P.O.BOX.226.

2. Haramaya University, College of Agriculture and environmental science, School of plant science,Dire Dawa.P.O.BOX.138.

 Corresponding Author: [email protected]    mob:0904884570

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the most popular, widely cultivated and commonly consumed fruits in Ethiopia; particularly in Harari regional state, eastern Ethiopia where farmer’s livelihood is highly supplemented by the income from their mango trees. However, identified mango fruits ecotypes with better quality both for growers and consumers are not available as consumers’ preferences vary for the different mango ecotypes being grown in Harari region. The available mango fruits ecotypes may also differ in their response to the farmers’ management practices. Therefore, to investigate consumer preference to help the growers to produce according to preferred quality that meet consumers’ value in the market, this study was initiated with the objective of evaluating the physicochemical and sensory quality of four mango ecotypes fruits under four farmers management practices in Harari regional state, eastern Ethiopia. The experiment consisted of a factorial combination of 4 mango ecotypes and 4 farmers’ management practices with 3 replications in CRD design. Data on physicochemical and sensory attributes: titratable acidity, pH, total soluble solid, sugar to acid ratio, ascorbic acid, total phenol content, physiological loss in weight, taste, texture, aroma, flavor and overall fruits acceptability of local mango ecotypes harvested from four farmers were evaluated at four days interval during a storage period of 15 days at an ambient temperature of 25ºC and relative humidity of 65-70%. The collected data were subjected to Analysis of variance in Gen stat 18th edition statistical software while Tukeys Test (CD) was applied to separate statistically significant means (at 5 %). From the finding it was observed that Amba Kurfa ecotypes were found to have significantly higher total soluble solid, sugar to acid ratio, pH, total phenol content, aroma, taste, flavor, overall acceptability and lowest physiological weight loss than the rest. Amba Bare was found to have significantly higher titratable acidity and weight loss than the rest while Amba Negus was found to have significantly higher ascorbic acid and texture than the rest. As a result, Amba Kurfa grown by Farmer 3 was relatively better in physicochemical and sensory quality whereas, Amba Bare grown by Farmer 4 was relatively the least in physicochemical and sensory quality.