Effect of temperature treatment on postharvest quality of the cherry tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme)

Abstract

Heat accumulation in the field accelerates softening and shortens the shelf life of cherry tomatoes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of temperature treatment after harvest on the postharvest quality and microbial communities of cherry tomatoes. Regarding fruit quality properties, a 10℃ treatment after harvest caused a delay in increasing weight loss, firmness, electrolyte leakage and decay rate. After the temperature treatment, an approximately 1-2 log reduction on total viable cells, fungi, Enterobacteriaceae and coliforms was observed in the 10℃ treatment group compared with those at 20 and 30℃. However, total viable cells and decay rate remarkably increased at 10℃ treatment after 26 days. The microbial communities of cherry tomatoes in intitial day after temperature treatment were composed mainly of Staphylococcus xylosus or Bacillus pumilus. During storage, the relative abundance of Staphylococcus xylosus and Bacillus pumilus decreased while Pseudomonas fluorescens, Rahnella aquatilis and Leuconostoc mesenteroid increased during late storage. The rapid increase of total aerobic cells and decay rate in the 10℃ treatment group may be associated with a marked increase in Pseudomonas fluorescens. The results from this study demonstrate the effectiveness of pre-cooling to suppress the softening and indicate an impact on microbial community composition and dynamics during storage.