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This is the data that I collected and analysed leading to the manuscript on EVALUATING THE EFFICACY OF MORINGA OLEIFERA LEAF EXTRACTS PREPARED USING DIFFERENT SOLVENTS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND QUALITY OF TOMATOES AND PEPPERS
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2.4.3 Measurement of fruit quality parameters External quality parameters (colour and size) of five fruit per plant from similar positions (75 fruit per treatment) were evaluated at harvest. The same fruit were utilized for destructive measurements. 2.4.3.1 Fruit colour A chroma meter CR-400 (Minolta Co. Ltd., Osaka, Japan) was used to evaluate the surface colour of red-mature fruit. 2.4.3.2 Fruit size Fruit size (diameter) of all red-mature fruit in each treatment was measured using 150 mm digital callipers. 2.4.3.3 Carotenoid analysis The concentration of carotenoids in the tomato fruit pericarp was determined spectrophotometrically according to Nagata and Yamashita (1992), using exact absorbance readings of the fruit pericarp material extracted in acetone-hexane (2:3). Individual fruit (1 g) were macerated in a 100 mL acetone: hexane (2:3) solution, centrifuged in a table-top centrifuge and the supernatant collected to read its absorbance at 663, 645, 505, 453 nm using a spectrophotometer (IRMECO GmbH, Germany, Model U2020). The following equations were used to calculate lycopene and β-carotene concentrations of the sample solution: Lycopene (mg. g-1 FM) = -0.0458 A663 + 0.204 A645 + 0.372 A505 - 0.0806 A453 β-carotene (mg. g-1 FM) = 0.216 A663 - 1.22 A645 - 0.304 A505 + 0.452 A453 In pepper fruit, however, the concentrations of carotenoids were determined according to Hornero-Mendez and Minguez-Mosquera (2001); briefly, 0.5 g fresh pericarp sample was extracted with 75 mL acetone for 1 h, the extract filtered through Whatman No. 1 filter paper to obtain precipitate-free extracts, transferred to a volumetric flask and made up to 100 mL, before its absorbance was measured spectrophotometrically at 472 and 508 nm. The following equations were used to calculate the red (CR) and the yellow (CY) carotenoid fractions: (CR)= (A508 × 2144.0 - A472 × 403.3) / 270.9 (µg red carotenoids/mL) (CY)= (A472 × 1724.3 - A508 × 2450.1)/ 270.9 (µg yellow carotenoids/mL) 2.4.3.4 Total soluble solids A digital refractometer (RFM340+ refractometer, Bellingham and Stanley Ltd, Basingstoke, Hants, UK) was used to determine the percentage of TSS in the fruit juice. 2.4.3.5 Ascorbic acid Ascorbic acid was quantitatively determined according to a slightly modified method of Klein and Perry (1982). Briefly, freeze-dried pericarp portions (0.5 g DM) were extracted with 20 mL 3% (w/v) metaphosphoric acid, followed by shaking the sample at 300 rpm for 30 min. The extracts were subsequently centrifuged for 10 min at 2000 g; thereafter, 1 mL sample extract was added to 3 mL 0.2 mM 2, 6-dichlorophenolindophenol (DCPIP) and the solution was measured immediately at 515 nm after mixing for 15 s. The results were expressed in mg ascorbic acid per 100 g dry mass (mg/ 100 g DM).