Establishing priority quality traits thresholds through correlation between instrumental measurements and sensory panel data

Inadequate attention to postharvest quality in conventional plantain breeding pipelines limits their effectiveness. Understanding the key quality traits of boiled plantain that consumers prefer could be of great interest for the adoption of new selected clones. This report aimed to establish priority quality traits thresholds through correlation between instrumental and sensory attributes of boiled plantain genotypes. Consumer tests, including Just About Right and Check All That Apply, as well as sensory quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA), instrumental texture profile analysis (TPA), and penetrometry, were conducted with nine accessions: three landraces and six plantain-like bred hybrids. More than 45% of participants rated landraces as just-about-right for all sensory attributes (humidity, sweetness, color, and firmness), characterized by appealing traits such as smooth appearance, attractiveness, mealiness, firmness, distinct plantain taste, and yellow color. Color and firmness received the highest scores from panelists for landraces. Penetrometry was more effective in discriminating genotypes than TPA. For TPA, the most discriminatory attributes were hardness, gumminess, resilience and chewiness, while hardness was key for penetrometry. No correlation existed between penetrometry and sensory texture, but TPA revealed negative correlations between sensory humidity and hardness, as well as between sensory firmness and resilience, with a positive correlation between resilience and sensory humidity. Threshold values for some priority quality traits are: Wetness=32.03%; Firmness=8737.31g and Sweetness=13.90°Brix. Regarding color, no threshold value was found with the available data. Combining QDA with instrumental measurements could enhance the selection process for plantain hybrids and facilitate the adoption of new varieties.