Assessment of Calcium Content in Pear Fruits under Storage after CaCl2 Applications during Pre- and Post-Harvest Phases

Abstract

Post-harvest systems are crucial for fruit conservation, since they minimize the waste of such perishable food and allow its marketability to consumers during the year. This study thus aimed to assess the calcium values in stored fruits, previously sprayed and/or immersed in CaCl2, and the possible implications for quality. Fruits previously sprayed with different concentrations of calcium chloride (0–8 kg·ha−1 CaCl2) during the productive cycle (pre-harvest phase) were separated into two groups at harvest. One group was immediately stored in conservation chambers, while the second group was immersed in 1.3% CaCl2 (for 10 min at room temperature) in the post-harvest stage. After 4 months of storage, the calcium content was evaluated with X-ray fluorescence analysis, and quality parameters, such as total soluble solids, malic acid, hardness and colorimetric parameters of the pulp were also monitored. Overall, the calcium content in stored fruits with post-harvest bath was superior, but the fruits with the exclusive application of CaCl2 during the pre-harvest phase were superior to the respective control. Furthermore, treatment T2 (corresponding to the highest concentration of CaCl2 during pre-harvest, up to 8 kg·ha−1) presented the lowest total soluble solids values. The highest value of malic acid prevailed in fruits with no application of CaCl2, while it also presented the lowest value of hardness. No significant differences were observed for the colorimetric parameters of pulps. In conclusion, the pre-harvest workflow used for this study increased the calcium content in fruits at harvest, but the post-harvest immersion can be used in addition to pre-harvest treatments to avoid fruit quality decay. The calcium applications did not compromise the fruits’ marketability to consumers.