Physico-chemical characterization of wild apple (Malus baccata) in Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand

Abstract

A survey was conducted in Kumaon hills of Uttarakhand (India) for evaluation of physico-chemical characteristics in wild apple (Malus baccata). During the survey, total five variants of wild apple were collected and assessed for their important physico-chemical traits. A considerable variability in physicochemical characteristics was observed among the variants. Majority of the variants are small (<2.5 m) to large (>5 m) in tree size, produces medium size (15-30 mm) fruits which are round to globose in shape, yellowish red to dark red in colour and mid (August-September) to late (October-November) in maturity. The highest leaf length (7.54 cm), leaf width (4.90 cm) and leaf area (64.69 cm2) were recorded in Collection- 4, while the lowest leaf length (6.10 cm) and leaf width (3.30 cm) were recorded in Collection-1. The highest fruit length (31.53 mm), fruit width (38.45 mm), fruit weight (28.15 g), total sugars (8.94%), reducing sugars (6.41%), total anti-oxidant activity (32.65 mMTE/L), seed length (7.32 mm), seed width (4.06 mm) and seed index (3.18 g) were recorded in the Collection-5, while lowest leaf area (48.64 cm2), fruit length (8.68 mm), fruit width (9.09 mm), fruit weight (0.45 g), total sugars (2.83%), carotene content (84.08 μg/100 g), total anti-oxidant activity (10.05 mMTE/L), seed length (4.59 mm), seed width (2.09 mm) and seed index (1.18 g) were recorded in Collection-2. The most of the physico-chemical characteristics were found superior in Collection-4 and Collection-5 as compared to other wild apple collections.