Evaluation of sweet cherry fruit quality after short-term storage in relation to the rootstock

Abstract

Fruits of the sweet cherry cultivar ‘Regina’ collected from trees growing on seven rootstocks were stored in a cold room at 2 °C with a normal (NA) and controlled atmosphere (15% and 20% CO2 and 5% O2—CA1 and CA2) for 2 weeks. The rootstocks on which the trees grew and the storage conditions significantly affected all fruit parameters tested during both years of the experiment. Fruit from Damil rootstock exhibited higher mean firmness than fruit from Colt rootstock. The effect of rootstocks on the value of soluble solids content (SSC) varied, wherein the fruits from Tabel Edabriz and Damil were characterized by high SSC mean content. The organic acids content (TA) was significantly lower after storage than during harvest time. Fruits from Tabel Edabriz trees were characterized by faster ripening, as was evident by the higher SSC to TA ratio. The amount of mass lost depended significantly and only on the storage conditions—sweet cherries from both CA combinations had the lowest mass losses. The percentage of fruits showing disease symptoms was largely dependent on the weather conditions in the orchard the year before the fruit harvest, as well as atmosphere composition and RH during fruit storage. Cold storage conditions with a high (20%) CO2 content are recommended for the short-term storage of sweet cherry fruits because they preserve fruit quality parameters: a low decrease in firmness, maintenance of a high SSC/TA ratio, a low percent of fungal infections, and good preservation of green color in the peduncle.