Some Physical and Chemical Properties of Two Jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) Genotypes Grown in Western Turkey

Ziziphus jujuba Mill. is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical Asia (Afghanistan, China, India, Iran, Pakistan, Turkey, South Korea, etc.), Europe (Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, etc.), North America (USA, Canada) and Oceania (Australia). It is a nutritious fruit crop and is used fresh, dried and as a component in processed foods. This experiment was conducted to determine some physical (fruit weight, width and length, fruit shape index, fruit skin color, stone weight, width and length, flesh/stone ratio) and chemical (soluble solid contents, titratable acidity, vitamin C, sugar and organic acid profiles) properties of the fully ripened fruits of two jujube genotypes collected from Isparta-Sutculer flora ('Genotype-1') and Antalya-Gazipasa ('Genotype-2') regions of Turkey. Organic acids, sugar profiles and vitamin C were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The fruits of 'Genotype-2' were significantly larger than those of 'Genotype-1'. The fruit weight of 'Genotype-2' was four times higher than 'Genotype-1'. Both genotypes differed from each other with respect to their chemical properties. 'Genotype-2's fruits had significantly higher total sugar content than those of 'Genotype-1'. The main sugars found in both were glucose and sucrose. Regarding organic acids, ascorbic and malic acids were the most prominent in the pulp. In general, the results demonstrated that two jujube genotypes varied in respect to their physical and chemical characteristics