Abstract/Summary

The flavour profiles of six different genotypes of Charentais cantaloupe melons (medium and long shelf-life) were investigated at three different storage points (after harvest, ripe and overripe). Several physiological characteristics were also studied in order to investigate their role and their ability to discriminate the shelf-life of melon. Dynamic headspace extraction followed by GC-MS was used for the analysis of volatile compounds. Quantitative differences existed among the six genotypes and between the three storage points. Overall the aim of this study was to find a flavoursome long shelf-life genotype that would be able to deliver desirable quality attributes (appearance, aroma and texture)