Changes on the Fruit Quality of Strawberries (<i>Fragaria</i> × <i>Ananassa</i> Duch) in Response to Ripening Level, Storage Temperature, and Storage Period

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the effects of the ripening level (50% and 100%), storage temperature (1°C and 10°C), and storage period (0, 7, and 14 days) on the fruit quality of the strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch) cultivars “Arihyang” and “Kuemsil”, which are commonly grown for export in South Korea. Strawberry plants of each cultivar were grown in a plastic greenhouse, and fruit samples were harvested in January 2019 to evaluate the fruit hardness, gray mold rot, anthocyanin content, sugar content, and antioxidant activity. We found that “Arihyang” had a greater fruit hardness than “Kuemsil” across all storage periods excluding the day of harvest, and that fruit stored at 1°C had a greater hardness than fruit stored at room temperature (10 ± 2°C) for both cultivars. In incidence of gray mold rat, “Kuemsil” had a higher than “Arihyang”. The soluble solid content was highest at 7 days after harvest for both cultivars, with the exception of “Kuemsil” following storage at 1°C. The anthocyanin content was higher in “Arihyang” than in “Kuemsil” and was also greater in fruit that had been stored at room temperature due to the faster ripening time. Finally, the DPPH activity of fully ripened fruit tended to decrease as the storage period increased, while the ABTS activity was the same across all treatments. These findings demonstrate that “Arihyang” are more advantageous for long-term distribution as well as export than “Kuemsil”, and recommend that the two new cultivars of strawberry be cool stored at 100% ripening state and eaten within 7 days.