Effects of harvest date on plant growth parameters and fruit phytochemical contents in different cultivars of chokeberry

Chokeberry, a type of berry fruit, has garnered attention in recent years due to its remarkable antioxidant properties. The rich bioactive components found in its fruits have been found to exert positive effects on human health. In this research, the growth, yield, and quality of two chokeberry cultivars (‘Nero’ and ‘Viking’) were evaluated, along with detailed biochemical parameters of the fruits, across different harvest dates ranging from mid-August to mid-September. During the experiment, it was observed that the ‘Viking’ cultivar exhibited more upright and taller plant growth than ‘Nero’. There were no significant differences observed between the cultivars in terms of yield, total soluble solids (TSS), total phenolic content (TPC), total monomeric anthocyanins (TMA), and antioxidant activity. However, ‘Nero’ demonstrated superiority in phenolic acids (excluding ferulic acid), glucose, citric acid, quinic acid, and ascorbic acid content. As the harvest progressed from August 31 to September 15, there was an increase in the accumulation of fruit TSS, TPC, TMA, sucrose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, epicatechin, neo-chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, and ferulic acid. Harvest dates did not impact antioxidant activity and anthocyanin compound values. Among the taste-related compounds, sorbitol was determined to be the most abundant, while sucrose exhibited a positive correlation with all individual sugars. Additionally, malic acid and quinic acid showed a positive correlation. The combination of the ‘Nero’ cultivar and the September 15th harvest date stood out as the most prominent in superior fruit bioactive compounds.