Abstract: To explore the differences in the quality of winter jujubes from different production areas and their correlation with meteorological factors, this study collected winter jujubes from 5 major production areas (the 11th Regiment (A), 22nd Regiment (B), and 50th Regiment (C) of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, Dali county of Shaanxi Province (D), and Zhanhua of Shandong Province (E)) for systematically determining 34 quality indicators. Based on annual temperature, relative humidity and cloud cover data, further research was conducted using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation analysis, simple linear regression, principal component analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis. The results showed that there were significant differences in fruit size, texture characteristics, sugar and acid components, and nutrient accumulation of winter jujubes from different production areas. Winter jujubes from production area A had the best comprehensive quality, those from production area B were prominent in flavor, and those from production area C performed well in taste and texture with relatively abundant contents of sucrose and mineral nutrients. Correlation and regression analysis further revealed that increased temperature was beneficial for improving single fruit mass, fruit diameter, kernel traits, and total carbon content. Decreased humidity was beneficial for increasing sugar-to-acid ratio and selenium content, and decreased cloud cover could contribute to enhanced crispness. PCA extracted four principal components (PCs), namely “morphological appearance”, “sweetness and flavor”, “sucrose and minerals”, and “taste and texture”, with the comprehensive scores of production areas ranking in a descending order as follows: A > B > C > E > D. Cluster analysis clustered the production areas into three categories, showing that the overall quality of winter jujubes from production areas A and B was better. By establishing a quantitative model based on a combination of multi-dimensional indicators and meteorological factors, this study identified the key climatic factors affecting winter jujube quality development, providing a scientific basis for the optimization of production areas and quality-oriented cultivation of winter jujubes.

Key words: winter jujubes; quality; meteorological factors; production areas; comprehensive evaluation