Abstract

Volatiles at various stages of inflorescence development, bud formation, flowering, fruit formation and ripening of cv. Glen Prosen were entrained on Tenax TA and analysed by thermal desorption-GC-MS. Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters, monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were identified. As the inflorescences matured, the concentrations of green leaf volatiles such as trans-β-ocimene and cis-3-hexenyl acetate declined, and the concentrations of α-pinene, camphene, β-myrcene and limonene increased. During fruit ripening, several additional compounds appeared including α- and β-ionone, α- and β-phellandrene and hexanoic acid ethyl ester. Ethyl acetate (12-18%) was the major detectable volatile product of the ripe fruit.