Journal of Bio-Environment Control ISSN:1229-4675(Print) 2765-3641(Online) 생물환경조절학회지

‘Hanareum’ pear is expected to produce the high quality small and medium-sized fruits without any major changes in the current cultivation techniques, inasmuch as its basic characteristics are already included in the range of small and medium-sized fruits. Thus, we tested the possibility of utilization of ‘Hanareum’ pear for producing small and medium-sized fruits, while establishing the limit of minimum fruit weight for the fruits in high quality. With the results of correlation analysis, it was possible to predict the fruit weight through the observation of soluble solid contents and flesh firmness, because both factors were closely correlated to fruit weight in all treatments. Moreover, these factors were confirmed to be useful indicators of forecasting consumer preference in the sensory evaluation. The fruit marketability was excellent under the conditions that were greater than 11.6°Bx and less than 25.6 N for soluble solid contents and flesh firmness, respectively. When applying these standards of fruit quality to the results of regression analysis for fruit weight, non-treated fruits fulfilled both standards when the fruit weight was higher than 436 g, and the quality uniformity was also high on this state. Therefore, the production of high quality small and medium-sized fruits was determined to be under this condition. The weight limit for GA treated fruits was 620 g, and both fruit quality and uniformity were below the weight range of small and medium-sized fruits, with 300~500 g. Thus, GA treatment was suggested to be avoided, in order to produce the high quality small and medium-sized fruits.