Correlation Analysis of Quality Characteristics in Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) Genotypes

Abstract

Tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.) is a tropical fruit tree belonging to the Leguminosae family, renowned for its unique sweet and tangy flavour. This study analysed the correlation among tamarind quality parameters, uncovering several statistically significant relationships that offer valuable insights into the biochemical and physiological factors influencing fruit quality and yield.  TSS exhibited a strong positive correlation with both reducing sugars (r = 0.73, p < 0.01) and total sugars (r = 0.75, p < 0.01), indicating that an increase in TSS is associated with a higher sugar concentration in tamarind fruits. The pH displayed a moderate positive correlation with total sugars (r = 0.47, p < 0.05). A significant inverse relationship was observed between non-reducing sugars and reducing sugars (r = -0.64, p < 0.01). This indicates that during tamarind fruit ripening, non-reducing sugars like sucrose are biochemically converted into reducing sugars such as glucose and fructose, a common process observed in many ripening fruits. Total sugars exhibited a significant positive correlation with reducing sugars (r = 0.7, p < 0.01). Tartaric acid, the primary organic acid in tamarind, showed a significant negative correlation with total sugar (r = -0.51, p < 0.05) while as Pod yield per tree showed low negative correlations with key quality traits such as TSS (r = -0.293), pH (r = -0.37) and reducing sugars (r = -0.22), suggesting that trees with higher yields might produce fruits with marginally reduced sugar content and acidity.