Abstract
Blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) are highly valued for their health-promoting potential, yet they are extremely perishable. Controlled atmosphere (CA) strategies reduce blueberry respiratory metabolism, slowing down senescence. However, the sudden change of atmosphere could elicit a physical abiotic stress in the fruit, negatively affecting quality. We propose an innovative approach based on controlled graduation to slowly reach optimum gas storage conditions as an alternative to standard CA. For two consecutive seasons, “Duke” blueberries were subjected to four different storage conditions: control (air); standard CA (sudden exposure to 5 kPa O2 and 10 kPa CO2 across the experiment); GCA3 and GCA7 (gradually reaching 5 kPa O2 and 10 kPa CO2 in 3 and 7 days, respectively). Fruit were stored for 28 days at 0 ± 0.5°C. Real-time respirometry provided an in-depth insight to the respiratory response of blueberries to their gas environment. Blueberries subjected to the graduated application of CA (GCA) treatments had a lower steady-state respiration rate compared to control and standard CA fruit. This indicated a reduction in metabolic activity that positively impacted quality and storage life extension. For example, GCA3 and GCA7 blueberries had a 25% longer storage life when compared to control, based on reduced decay incidence. In addition, GCA fruit were 27% firmer than control and CA fruit after 28 days of cold storage. GCA3 had a positive effect on maintaining individual sugars concentrations throughout the experiment, and both GCA treatments maintained ascorbic acid content close to initial values compared to a decrease of 44% in the control fruit at the end of the experiment. This work provides a paradigm shift in how CA could be applied and a better understanding of blueberry physiology and postharvest behavior.
Highlights
Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) have become a popular soft fruit because of their organoleptic characteristics and health-promoting compound content (Manganaris et al, 2014)
A peak in CO2 production was observed for all treatments in both seasons; its intensity and timing varied depending on treatment
Blueberries subjected to standard Controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions showed the earliest and highest CO2 burst, while GCA7 was the most delayed and had the lowest peak
Summary
Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) have become a popular soft fruit because of their organoleptic characteristics and health-promoting compound content (Manganaris et al, 2014). Their storage life at 0◦C varies between 14 and 20 days depending on preharvest factors (i.e., cultivar, ripeness stage, harvest method) and storage conditions (Matiacevich et al, 2013). The main process in fruit metabolism (Gomes et al, 2010), is key to delaying senescence. Respiration is mostly affected by temperature and the respiratory gaseous environment (Wang et al, 2019).
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