Abstract: A comparative analysis of fruit quality was carried out among 10 Japanese loquat cultivars introduced in Ankang, Shaanxi, China and a method for the quality evaluation of these cultivars was established in order to provide a basis for the classification of various varieties and the selection of suitable varieties for the development of local loquat industry. The physical, nutritional and functional properties of loquats were determined. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) were used to evaluate the quality of loquats. The results showed that the introduced cultivars exhibited significant differences in all fruit quality attributes investigated, and their quality was overall better than that of the local cultivar Maihouhuang. In PCA analysis, four principal parameters, flavor, antioxidant capacity, processing method and total phenol content, were extracted, which contributed cumulatively to 85.666% of the total variation. According to the comprehensive evaluation function developed based on PCA, the top 3 varieties were ‘ADVANCE’, ‘Jinyun’ and ‘CHAMPAGNE’ respectively. CA divided these 10 cultivars into 5 categories. The first category had health beneficial value; the second one was suitable for processing fruit juice and vinegar beverages; the third one could be directly eaten. The combination of PCA and CA could allow comprehensive quality evaluation of loquat fruit, which can provide a basis for loquat breeding and effective utilization.

Key words: Ankang, Shaanxi, loquat, quality, principal component analysis, cluster analysis