ABSTRACT
Stone fruit, or in botany, a drupe, is a fruit in which an outer ”eshy part (exocarp or skin and mesocarp or ”esh) surrounds a shell (pit or stone) of hardened endocarp with a seed inside. These fruits develop from a single carpel, and mostly from ”owers with superior ovaries. The de…nitive characteristic of a drupe is that the hard, ligni…ed stone (or pit) is derived from the ovary wall of the ”ower. Apricots, plums, peaches, and cherries are the major stone fruits that are grown worldwide (Westwood 1978). These stone fruits are climacteric in nature, that is, the mature fruit is harvested and ripened off-the-plant. These fruits are highly perishable commodities and have to be either consumed immediately or preserved in one form or another. In developed countries, a considerable quantity is used to prepare processed products. However, in developing countries, lack of proper use results in considerable postharvest losses, estimated to be 30% to 40% (Joshi et al. 2000). The conversion of such fruits into wine of acceptable qualities, especially in developing countries, could save these precious resources to a greater extent.
