Horticultural Crops Research Site Logo
ARS Home About Us Helptop nav spacerContact Us En Espanoltop nav spacer
Printable VersionPrintable Version     E-mail this pageE-mail this page
Agricultural Research Service United States Department of Agriculture
Search
  Advanced Search
 
Programs and Projects
Subjects of Investigation
Small Fruit Breeding
Foliar Pathology
Food Chemistry
Grape Research
 

Research Project: PHYSIOLOGY AND GENETIC IMPROVEMENT OF SMALL FRUIT CROPS

Location: Horticultural Crops Research

Title: Volatile Composition and Odour-Activity Value of Thornless 'Black Diamond' and 'Marion' Blackberries

Authors
item Du, Xiaofen -
item Finn, Chad
item Qian, Michael -

Submitted to: Food Chemistry
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: August 17, 2009
Publication Date: April 1, 2010
Citation: Du, X., Finn, C.E., Qian, M. 2010. Volatile composition and odour-activity value of thornless 'Black Diamond' and 'Marion' blackberries. Food Chemistry. 119:1127-1134.

Interpretive Summary: The flavor of 'Marion' (aka marionberry) blackberry is one of its most highly prized attributes. A major reason for 'Marion' having such highly regarded flavor are its aromatic compounds. 'Marion' is the number one blackberry grown in the Pacific Northwest and is probably the most important blackberry for processing in the world. While its fruit quality is remarkable, it is thorny and when it is machine harvested, thorns can end up in the product and eventually in the consumers mouth presenting a legal liability. The USDA-ARS blackberry breeding program has had as a goal the development of high quality, thornless blackberries with flavor comparable to 'Marion'. 'Black Diamond' is one of their recent releases towards this goal, and it has been very widely planted. The goal of this research was to compare the volatile composition of these two cultivars. Fruit was harvested over different seasons and the volatiles from the fruit were analyzed. Although seasonal variations were present, the overall volatile profile in 'Marion' and 'Black Diamond' were very similar, but the concentrations of some aroma compounds varied greatly. Odour-activity value (OAV)indicated that furaneol, linalool, b-ionone, and hexanal could be most important in 'Marion', while in 'Black Diamond', the most important compounds were linalool, b-ionone, furaneol, and 2-heptanol. The major difference between the cultivars for aroma compounds was that 'Marion' had a 5 times higher OAV of furaneol than 'Black Diamond', while 'Black Diamond' had a 3 times higher OAV of linalool than 'Marion'. The chemical analysis results matched with the descriptive sensory evaluation that 'Marion' had more berry, fruity, strawberry aroma while 'Black Diamond' had more floral aroma. While 'Black Diamond' has excellent flavor, it has some distinctive differences that processors who are used to using 'Marion' need to be aware of when working with 'Black Diamond' fruit.

Technical Abstract: 'Black Diamond' is a recently developed thornless blackberry cultivar with large fruit size, high yield, and good processed fruit quality that has rapidly become an industry standard. The flavour of 'Black Diamond' fruit is not the same as 'Marion', which is regarded by the industry as having the ideal flavour. In order to understand the aroma differences, the volatile composition of 'Marion' and 'Black Diamond' was analysed using stir bar sorptive extraction-gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (SBSE-GC–MS) and solidphase extraction (SPE)-microvial insert thermal desorption-GC–MS for two growing seasons. Although seasonal variations were present, the overall volatile profile in 'Marion' and 'Black Diamond' were very similar, but the concentrations of some aroma compounds varied greatly. Odour-activity value (OAV) indicated that furaneol, linalool, b-ionone, and hexanal could be most important in 'Marion', while in 'Black Diamond', the most important compounds were linalool, b-ionone, furaneol, and 2-heptanol. The major difference between the cultivars for aroma compounds was that 'Marion' had a 5 times higher OAV of furaneol than 'Black Diamond', while 'Black Diamond' had a 3 times higher OAV of linalool than 'Marion'. The chemical analysis results matched with the descriptive sensory evaluation that 'Marion' had more berry, fruity, strawberry aroma while 'Black Diamond' had more floral aroma.

   

 
Project Team
Finn, Chad
Martin, Robert - Bob
 
Publications
   Publications
 
Related National Programs
  Plant Genetic Resources, Genomics and Genetic Improvement (301)
 
Related Projects
   Evaluation and testing of berry crops for commercial production in the Pacific Northwest
   GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG GRAPEVINE VIRUSES IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST REGION
   SMALL FRUIT CROPS BREEDING IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
   Rosebreed: Enabling Marker-assisted Breeding in Rosaceae
   AN INVASIVE PEST AND AN EMERGING DISEASE: A DANGEROUS MIX FOR WEST COAST VINEYARDS
   MANAGEMENT OF VIRUS COMPLEXES IN RUBUS
   Developing the Genomic Infrastructure for Breeding Improved Black Raspberries
   QUALITY EVALUATION OF BERRY SELECTIONS AND VARIETIES
   Developing the Genomic Infrastructure for Breeding Improved Black Raspberries(NCSU)
   DEVELOPING THE GENOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BREEDING IMPROVED BLACK RASPBERRIES (OREGON STATE UNIV)
   Developing the Genomic Infrastructure for Breeding Improved Black Raspberries(Ohio State Univ)
   Developing the Genomic Infrastructure for Breeding Improved Black Raspberries (Cornell)
   CULTIVAR DEVELOPMENT OF EDIBLE FRUITED HONEYSUCKLE LONICERA CAERULEA L.
   PRODUCTION OF ANTIBODIES TO DETECT FOR VIRUSES FROM THE GRAPEVINE LEAFROLL COMPLEX BY ELISA
   EVALUATING THE FEASIBILITY OF COORDINATED REGIONAL ON-FARM TRIALS OF ADVANCED RASPBERRY & BLACKBERRY SELECTIONS
   Development of National Clean Plant System for Berry Crops
   An Economic Analysis of Virus Infections in Raspberry Production
 
 
Last Modified: 06/18/2013
ARS Home | USDA.gov | Site Map | Policies and Links 
FOIA | Accessibility Statement | Privacy Policy | Nondiscrimination Statement | Information Quality | USA.gov | White House