Volatile Profile Characterization of Commercial Peach (Prunus persica) Cultivars Grown in Georgia, USA

Peach production in Georgia, USA, extends from mid-May to mid-August. Multiple cultivars are commercially grown in the U.S., and each cultivar has unique fruit quality characteristics, which could influence consumer perception and acceptability. Among those, peach flavor has been minimally characterized among cultivars. Headspace-solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to characterize the volatile profile of 42 peach cultivars commercially grown in 2016. The goal of this research was to understand the aroma composition and content of peach cultivars grown in Georgia, USA. Thirty-six volatile compounds were identified. Significant differences (p <= 0.0001) were observed for all the flavor volatiles across all cultivars being evaluated. Esters were the major compounds isolated from the 42 peach cultivars, followed by lactones, alcohols, aldehydes, and terpenoids, in that order. Lactones, benzaldehyde, and linalool, which are known to be peach aroma compounds, exhibited the highest mean concentrations among the cultivars with gamma- and delta-decalactones having a concentration of approximately 180 ng center dot g(-1) and 60 ng center dot g(-1), respectively. Among the cultivars, Majestic had the highest mean concentration of gamma-decalactone, followed by Southern Pearl with approximately 503 ng center dot g(-1) and 443 ng center dot g(-1), respectively. Southern Pearl and Fairtime also exhibited the highest average concentration of delta-decalactone. The results obtained will help provide an understanding of the distribution of the various volatile organic compounds found in Georgia-grown peach cultivars.

Automated summary

The volatile profiles of 42 peach cultivars grown in Georgia, USA were characterized, identifying 36 volatile compounds with significant differences in content among cultivars. Esters were found to be the major compounds, with differences observed in the concentrations of lactones, alcohols, aldehydes, and terpenoids.