Comparative quality evaluation of mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) fruits from the Darjeeling Hills

Downloads

Published

2026-06-30

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2026.83.2.17

Keywords:

Darjeeling mandarin, peel thickness, bioactive compounds, correlation analysis, PCA.
Dimensions Badge

Issue

Vol. 83 No. 02 (2026): Indian Journal of Horticulture

Section

Research Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Sujit Sarkar, Arindam Ghosh, Soumya Majumder, William Tamang, Natasha Gurung

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors

  • Sujit Sarkar ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Kalimpong 734301, West Bengal, India
  • Arindam Ghosh ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Kalimpong 734301, West Bengal, India
  • Soumya Majumder ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Kalimpong 734301, West Bengal, India
  • William Tamang ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Kalimpong 734301, West Bengal, India
  • Natasha Gurung ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Kalimpong 734301, West Bengal, India

Abstract

The research was carried out to assess the quality of Darjeeling Mandarin fruits through various morphological, physicochemical and biochemical parameters in a comparative manner. Mandarin samples were collected from farmer’s orchards located in places of Darjeeling and Kalimpong hills such as Mirik, Mungpoo, Sittong, and Samsing. Comparatively, samples from Silugaon, Mirik had the superior fruit weight, pulp weight, juice volume and vitamin C; Mungpoo samples showed higher peel weight, number of segments, number of seeds, total soluble solids (TSS) and total phenolic content; while lower values of such parameters were recorded for Sittong-1 samples. Peel thickness is an important character of citrus fruits that determines the mechanical protection and flavor. In this study, the peel thickness was measured to be in a range of 1.82 – 2.97 mm. TSS was found in a range of 9.61º-13.8ºBrix which is quite acceptable as per previous reported standard (>8ºBrix). The recorded pH values (3.95 – 4.14) were not satisfactory which revealed a higher acidic level in fruits as per consumer acceptability (>4.35 pH). Significantly higher phenolic content was recorded for samples collected from Mungpoo, Darjeeling. The location-based correlation analysis showed that all samples were positively correlated (>96% similarity) with each other. Principal component analysis revealed clear location-specific differentiation among the mandarin samples, identifying Labda for superior nutraceutical traits and Sittong-1 for yield-related attributes, thereby supporting targeted breeding and site-specific cultivation under the Himalayan conditions.

How to Cite

Sarkar, S., Ghosh, A., Majumder, S., Tamang, W., & Gurung, N. (2026). Comparative quality evaluation of mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco) fruits from the Darjeeling Hills. Indian Journal of Horticulture, 83(02), 247–256. https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2026.83.2.17

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Dissanayake, D. M. L. N. K. 2017. Effect of increasing acidity on shelf-life of bottled mixed fruit juice drink. Int, J. Life Sci. Res. 5(3): 121-127.

2. Etienne, A., Génard, M., Lobit, P., Mbeguié-A-Mbéguié, D. & Bugaud, C. 2013. What controls fleshy fruit acidity? A review of malate and citrate accumulation in fruit cells. J. Exp. Bot. 64(6): 1451-1469.

3. Fahim, M. A., Hassan, M. K., Akhther, N., Howlader, N. C., Sarker, S., Hossain, M. S., Ullah, M.A., Akhtar, S. & Rokon, A. H. 2025. Assessment of Different Storage Methods on Postharvest Quality and Shelf Life of Darjeeling and Chinese Mandarins (Citrus Reticulata L.). J. Plant Stress Physiol. 11: 32-47.

4. Gaikwad, K. A., Patil, S. R., Nagre, P. K., Potdukhe, N. R., Paithankar, D. H., Gahukar, S. J. & Umbarkar, P. S. 2017. Correlation studies of different physico-morphological characters in citrus rootstock genotypes with fruit yield under Vidarbha region. Int. J. Chem. Stud. 5(4): 1687–1690.

5. García, M. R., Asins, M. J., & Carbonell, E. A. 2000. QTL analysis of yield and seed number in Citrus. Theor. Appl. Genet. 101: 487-493.

6. Ghosh, S. N. 2013. Citrus fruits: Production, postharvest, diseases and improvement. New Delhi, India: Studium Press.

7. Gurung, N., Singh, S.K., Sarkar, S., Barman, D. & Singh, B. 2022. Total Phenolic, Flavonoid Content, and Antioxidant Capacity of Darjeeling Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco). Appl. Ecol. Environ. Sci. 10(8):551-556.

8. Jentzsch, M., Albiez, V., Kardamakis, T. C., & Speck, T. (2024). Analysis of the peel structure of different Citrus spp. via light microscopy, SEM and μCT with manual and automatic carpelation. Soft Matter. 20(12): 2804-2811.

9. Jiao, Y., Zhang, S., Jin, H., Wang, Y., Jia, Y., Zhang, H., Jiang, Y., Liao, W., Chen, L.S. & Guo, J. 2023. Fruit quality assessment based on mineral elements and juice properties in nine citrus cultivars. Front. Plant Sci. 14: 1280495.

10. Khefifi, H., Dumont, D., Costantino, G., Doligez, A., Brito, A. C., Bérard, A., Morillon, R., Ollitrault, P. & Luro, F. 2022. Mapping of QTLs for citrus quality traits throughout the fruit maturation process on clementine (Citrus reticulata× C. sinensis) and mandarin (C. reticulata Blanco) genetic maps. Tree Genet. Genomes. 18(6): 40.

11. Lado, J., Rodrigo, M. J., & Zacarías, L. 2014. Maturity indicators and citrus fruit quality. Stewart Postharvest Rev. 10(2): 1-6.

12. Martí, N., Mena, P., Cánovas, J. A., Micol, V., & Saura, D. 2009. Vitamin C and the role of citrus juices as functional food. Nat. prod. commun. 4(5): 1934578X0900400506.

13. Pavithra, K.M 2024. Data: Major Vegetable & Fruit Production in India Increased Over the Years While Trends Vary in Major Producing States. Data: Major Vegetable & Fruit Production in India Increased Over the Years While Trends Vary in Major Producing States - FACTLY.

14. Phuyal, N., Jha, P. K., Raturi, P. P., & Rajbhandary, S. 2020. Total phenolic, flavonoid contents, and antioxidant activities of fruit, seed, and bark extracts of Zanthoxylum armatum DC. Sci. World J. 2020(1): 8780704.

15. Pineda-Hidalgo, K. V., Flores-Paredes, G., Garzón-Tiznado, J. A., Salazar-Salas, N. Y., Chávez-Ontiveros, J., López-Angulo, G., Delgado-Vargas, F. & Lopez-Valenzuela, J. A. 2025. The Expression of Genes Involved in Phenylpropanoid Biosynthesis Correlates Positively with Phenolic Content and Antioxidant Capacity in Developing Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) Seeds. Plants. 14(16): 2489.

16. Roy, R., Kharga, B. D., & Moktan, M. W. 2018. Darjeeling mandarin orange: reasons for its decline and perceived constraints. Int. J. Curr. Microbiol. Appl. Sci. 7(9): 14-20.

17. Sarkar, S., Gurung, N., Barman, D., Padaria, R. N., Burman, R. R., Sharma, J. P., & Singh, B. 2021. Assessing the Adoption Level of Recommended Technologies and Finding the Major Causes of Decline in Darjeeling Mandarin Cultivation. J. Commun. Mobil. Sustain. Dev. 16(1):43-53.

18. Yacomelo, M., Baquero, C., Martínez, M., Murcia, N., Correa, E., & Orduz-Rodriguez, J. O. 2018. Characterization and selection of Citrus sinensis Osbeck cv. Margaritera parental trees for repopulation in the Mompox depression region, Colombia. Agron. Colomb. 36(2): 103-113.

Similar Articles

<< < 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)