Characterization of fruits of four different lemon cultivars, collected in the northern coast of Sicily.

The present work is focused on the study of the characteristics of the fruits offour main lemon (Citrus limon L. Burm.) varieties cultivated in Sicily: ‘FemminelloComune’, ‘Monachello’, ‘Zagara Bianca’, and ‘Femminello Santa Teresa’. Physicaland chemical properties as well as aroma compounds were analysed as qualitydiscrimination factors. Also the effect of the storage conditions was verified.Standard experimental techniques were used to determine: weight, longitudinal andtransverse diameters, pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, juice percentage andtotal polyphenols. The volatile component was analysed by i) a gas chromatographerwith a mass spectrometer detector and ii) an electronic olfactory system (“e-nose”)equipped with an array of six MOS sensors. Most of the physical and chemicalparameters analysed allowed a statistically significant discrimination among thefactors cultivar and storage time. The aromatic pattern was similar for all thecultivars. Differences were observed after the storage at 18°C, particularly for thecultivar ‘Monachello’.