Towards high throughput phenotyping of the multisensory space of apple quality

The perceivable quality of apple is one of the most important aspects to be considered in breeding, for the selection as well as the commercialization of new accessions. Sensory science allows the definition and control of the multidimensional space behind the perceived quality of apple, but it is usually expensive and time consuming. For this reason the implementation of sensory attributes as phenotypic descriptors for genomic investigation is, in general, difficult. In 2010 we started a large sensory/instrumental phenotyping activity on several apple based on innovative technology and multidisciplinary know how to define models that, on the basis of rapid instrumental characterization, can provide reliable quantification of key sensory traits on large data sets to be used in genome wide association analysis, particularly elucidating the genetic basis of fruit texture and flavor related traits. Here we describe the general frame of our project and the results obtained as follows: i) the set up of a comprehensive sensory methodology to provide reliable, unified and competitive sensory characterization, ii) the setting and validation of models to estimate sensory attributes based on instrumental data, iii) the study of the complexity of the interaction between product and consumer during apple fruits consumption by nose space analysis and psycho‐physical experiments and iv) the investigation of the link with genomic information.