If i understand you correctly, then $array[1] looks like this "apples\tpears\toranges"? If, so, you'll have to use split to create the array you want. example:

$array[1] = "apples\tpears\toranges";
my @fruit = split(/\t/, $array[1]);
print "[$_]\n" foreach @fruit;
[download]

Results:

[apples]
[pears]
[oranges]
[download]

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