Intrinsic variables with antimicrobial activity in Tamr date (Phoenix dactylifera L.) during storage

Understating the physicochemical and microbiological properties of fruit is indispensable for proper postharvest handling to improve fruit quality and safety. Very limited studies have assessed the physicochemical characteristics and the microbial quality of date fruit. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the physicochemical and microbiological properties of Tamr fruit obtained from 13 different date cultivars grown in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after 6 months of storage at 18°C. Different date fruit varied in physical parameters: weight, size, color, and firmness. Among all cultivars, ‘Razizi’ had the lowest weight and size. Microbial analysis revealed that the microbial loads of the studied cultivars were significantly different. ‘Nabtet saif’ and ‘Sultana’ cvultivars had the highest mold/yeast and bacterial counts while ‘Fard’ had the lowest microbial load. Total sugar content ranged from 62.91 to 73.13% with the highest in ‘Fard’ and the lowest in ‘Sukkary’ and ‘Deglet noor’. The range of total organic acids was 123.31- 616.40 mg 100 g^‑1 and ‘Khenezi’ and ‘Fard’ cultivars had the highest among studied cultivars, while phenolic content was the highest in ‘Neighal’ and ‘Razizi’. These great variabilities in the results among the studied cultivars, reveal that more studies are needed to investigate the influence of fruit physicochemical and phytochemical characteristics on the microbial load during long storage.