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Maturity Indices of Fruits and

Vegetables
Harsh S. Hathi*, Dipti L. Parmar, Savan M. Bedva, Shivam A. Purohit
and Deep B. Patel.

College of Horticulture, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University,

Jagudan, Gujarat, India.

Corresponding Author
Harsh S. Hathi
E-mail: harsh.hathi9999@gmail.com

OPEN ACCESS
Keywords

Commodity, Maturity, Maturity indices, Ripening, Senescence.

How to cite this article:

Hathi, H. S., Parmar, D. L., Bedva, S. M., Purohit, S. A. and Patel, D. B. 2020. Maturity Indices of
Fruits and Vegetables. Vigyan Varta 1(8): 38-42.

ABSTRACT
Maturity is the stage of fully development of tissue of fruit and vegetables only after which
it will ripen normally. During the process of maturation, the fruit receives a regular supply
of food material from the plant. When mature, the abscission or corky layer which forms
at the stern end stops this inflow. Afterwards, the fruit depend on its own reserves,
carbohydrates are dehydrated and sugars accumulate until the sugar acid ratio form. In
addition to this, typical flavour and characteristic colour also develop. Science and studies
has recommended harvesting any commodity at proper harvest stage according to its
maturity indices which helps the commodity for proper ripening, shipping and storage life.

INTRODUCTION
 Commercial maturity refers to the stage

M
aturity indices are the sign or
indication the readiness of the
commodity for harvest. It is the
basis for determining harvest date. The maturity
of harvested perishable commodities has an
important bearing on their storage life and
quality and may affect the way they are
handled, transported, and marketed. The
different types of maturities are;
state of plant organ required by a market at
which the produce is optimally accepted to
the consumer.
 Horticultural maturity is a developmental
stage of the fruit on the tree, which will
result in a satisfactory product after harvest.
 Physiological maturity refers to the stage in
the development of the fruits and vegetables
when maximum growth and maturation has

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occurred. It is usually associated with full by planting large suckers and slips than by
ripening in the fruits. The Physiological smaller ones.
mature stage is followed by senescence.
4. Closer spacing:

Close spacing of hill bananas hastened

maturity.

5. Girdling:

In Grape vines it hastens maturity, reduces the

green berries in unevenly maturity cultivar and
lowers the number of short berries. It is
ineffective when done close to harvest.

Some maturity measures of fruits are given

in the table below:

Fruits Maturity indices

Citrus, Papaya, Peel colour
Pineapple, Grapes ,
Mango, Strawberry
Mango, Apple Pulp colour
Factors affecting maturity: Citrus, Apple, Pear Size
Banana, Pineapple, Shape
1. Temperature: Litchi, Mango
Banana Drying of plant parts
Higher temperature gives early maturity. E.g.
Melon, Mango Surface
Pink grapes mature in 100 days in Western
characteristics
India but only 82 days are enough in the warmer
Musk melon, Grape, Ease of separation
Northern India. Lemon and guava takes less
Mango (Tapka stage) from plants
time to mature in summer than in winter. Sun-
Watermelon Tapping
scorched portions of fruits are characterized by
chlorophyll loss, yellowing, disappearance of Jackfruit Aroma
starch and other alcohol insoluble material, Mango, Pineapple, Specific gravity
increase in TSS content, decrease in acidity and Guava
softening. Melons, Apple, Pear Firmness
Melon, Grapes Sugars
2. Soil: Grapes, Sweet orange, TSS
Papaya
Soil on which the fruit tree is grown affects the Citrus, Mango, Acidity
time of maturity. E.g. Grapes are harvested Pineapple
earlier on light sandy soils than on heavy clays. Apple, Pear, Banana Starch index
Citrus Juice content
3. Size of planting material:
Mango, Grape, Apple, Heat units
This factor in propagated fruits affects fruit Pear
maturity. E.g. In pineapple, the number of days Melons, Pineapple Days from anthesis
taken from flowering to fruit maturity was more
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Mango, Citrus, Apple, Days from full bloom harvest. Fruit shape may be used in
Pear some instances to decide maturity.
Banana, Mango Days from fruit set
 For example, Banana: angular shape
Some maturity measures of vegetables are changes to round
given in the table below:

Vegetable Maturity indices

Tomato Seeds slipping when fruit is
cut, or green colour turning
pink
Egg plant, Bitter Desirable size reached but
gourd, Slicing still tender
cucumber
Water melon Dull hollow sound when b. Colour:
thumped
Musk melon Easily separated from vine  The loss of green color of many fruits
with a slight twist leaving is a valuable guide to maturity.
clean cavity (full slip stage)
Snake gourd Desirable size reached and
thumbnail can still penetrate
flesh readily
Cowpea, Snap Well filled pods that snap
bean, Sweet pea, readily
Winged bean
Lima bean and Well filled pods that are
Pigeon pea beginning to lose their 2. Physical indices:
greenness
Okra Desirable size reached and a. Firmness:
the tips of which can be
snapped readily  As fruit mature and ripen they soften by
Cauliflower Curd compact dissolution of the middle lamella of the
Broccoli Bud cluster compact cell walls.
Radish and Large enough and crispy
Carrot  In many fruits such as apple, pear,
Potato, Onion Tops beginning to dry and peach, plum, guava, kinnow etc.
and Garlic topple clown firmness can be used to determine
Yams, Bean and Large enough harvest maturity.
Ginger

Types of maturity indices:

1. Visual indices:

a. Size and shape:

 Maturity of fruits can be assessed by

their final shape and size at the time of

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 Penetrometer measures the pressure
necessary to force a plunger of
specified size into the pulp of the fruit.
b. Specific gravity:
 Specific gravity is the ratio of the
density of a substance to the density of
a reference substance.
 As fruit mature, their specific gravity
increases.
 This parameter is rarely used in practice
to determine when to harvest a crop.
 To do this the fruit or vegetable is
placed in a tank of water; those that
float will be less mature that those that
sink.
3. Chemical Measurement:
a. Total Soluble Solids:
 It can be determined in a small sample
of fruit juice using hand refractometer.
 The refractometer measures the
refractive index, which indicates how
much a light beam will be slowed down
when it passes through the fruit juice.
b. Titratable acidity:
 Titratable acidity (TA) can be
determined by titrating a know volume
of juice with 0.1N NaOH to end point
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Hathi et. al. (2020)
 The milliliters of NaOH needed are
used to calculate the TA.
4. Calculated indices:
a. Calendar Date/Days after full bloom:
 Useful guide to harvest, where seasonal
variation in climate is small.
 This method works well when the
blooming period is short period.
b. Heat Units:
 It has been found that a characteristics
number of heat unit or degree-days is
required to mature a crop under usually
warm conditions
 It is based on the principle that growth
of plant organ is directly proportional
with ambient temperature
5. Physiological Method:
a. Respiration rate:
 Particularly on climateric fruits can
accurately pin point the most
appropriate time of harvest as there is
climateric rise in respiration.
b. Ethylene production:
 Like respiration rise climateric fruits
also have ethylene peak.
CONCLUSION
It has been determined that the stage of maturity
at the time of picking influence the storage life
and quality of fruit, when picked immature
lacking in normal brix acid ratio or sugar acid
ratio, taste and flavour on the other hand if the
fruits are harvested over mature or full ripe they
are easy susceptible to microbial and
physiological spoilage and their storage life is
considerably reduce. Therefore, it is required to
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pick up the fruits or vegetables at correct stage
of maturity to facilitate proper ripening, distant
transportation and maximum storage life.
REFERENCES:
P. Muthukumar & R. Selvakumar. (2017).
Glaustas Horticulture. 2nd ed. New Delhi,
New Vishal Publications.
Popular Article
Hathi et. al. (2020)
S. N. Gupta. (2019). Instant Horticulture. 15th
ed. New Delhi, Jain Brothers.
https://www.researchgate.net/
https://irrec.ifas.ufl.edu/postharvest/HOS_508
5C/Reading % 20Assignments/Kader-6
Maturation%20and%20Maturity%20Indic
es.pdf
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