Sweet Cherry Fruit Quality Research Articles

Can environment and genotype influence sweet cherry qualitative parameters?

The sweet cherry fruit quality traits (soluble solid content, titratable acidity, pH and soluble solid titratable acidity ratio), phytochemical content (total phenolic content and total monomeric anthocyanins) and antioxidant activity were determined in five Italian autochthonous genotypes and compared with two commercial cultivars for 4 consecutive years. Significant influences of genotype, crop year and their interaction on the variables under study was observed. The autochthonous cultivar “Ciliegia di Udine”, on average, showed the highest values for all the investigated parameter whereas the lowest ones were reported for the largely cultivated cultivar “Ferrovia” (Germersdorfer). Beside the genotype, crop year and its climatic conditions affected fruits quality and “Flamengo Srim” showed the best response taking into consideration fruit quality traits, phytochemical content and antioxidant activity and their quali-quantitative stability across the experimentation.

Effects of different rain shelter coverings on volatile organic compounds in mature fruit and postharvest quality of sweet cherry

ABSTRACT This study investigated the effects of different shelter coverings (arched-shelter and umbrella-shelter) on the volatile components of sweet cherry mature fruits in rainy areas, and the postharvest quality of these fruits during storage at room temperature. A total of 68 volatile compounds were identified and semiquantified in mature fruits. Aldehyde compounds were the most abundant, followed by alcohols. Benzyl alcohol, acetaldehyde, 2-methyl-propanal, hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal and benzaldehyde were the major volatiles, and the proportions of these compounds were greatly affected by different shelter coverings. With the extension of the storage period, the color parameters (L*, a* and b*), texture parameters (hardness, springiness, chewiness, resilience, skin strength and flesh firmness) and titratable acidity of the fruit rapidly decreased. The total soluble solid content and weight loss of the fruit gradually increased. Principal component analysis indicated that the sweet cherry fruits from the arched-shelter had the best quality and the longest shelf life.

Integration of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) with calcium sulphate (CaSO 4 ): A friendly treatment for extending shelf‐life and maintaining postharvest quality of sweet cherry fruit

In this work, the effect of pomegranate peel extract (PPE) and calcium sulphate (CaSO4), alone or in combination, on the postharvest quality of sweet cherry fruit was studied at 4°C during 45 days. The results showed that the use of PPE and CaSO4 coatings, alone or in combination, significantly improved the postharvest quality of cherry fruit during storage and decreased weight loss, decay, respiration rate, and increased acidity, firmness, ascorbic acid, DPPH, total phenolic compounds, and total anthocyanin content of the treated fruit compared to control. In all experiments, the optimal performance order of treatments was CaSO4 1% + PPE (400 ppm) as compare to other treatments. The results of the colorimetric analysis showed that the combination of PPE and CaSO4 significantly preserved fruit color during storage. According to the evaluators, cherry fruit treated with PPE and CaSO4 scored higher than the other samples and the control sample. Practical applications The results of this study show that the combined treatment of sweet cherry with PPE and CaSO4 can maintain the quality of fruit during storage.

Improvement of fruit quality and pedicel color of cold stored sweet cherry in response to pre-storage 1-methylciclopropene and chlorine dioxide treatments: Combination treatment of 1-MCP plus ClO2 improves post-harvest quality of sweet cherry fruit

Sweet cherry fruit is perishable which quality loss greatly influences consumers preference. To improve postharvest quality of sweet cherry, the effect of the combination of 1-methylciclopropene (1-MCP) plus chlorine dioxide (ClO2) was estimated by analyses of postharvest characteristics, bioactive compounds, antioxidant capacity and pedicel quality changing. The fruit was treated separately or in combination with 1-MCP and ClO2, which were stored at 4 °C for 25 d. In comparison with individual treatment, the combination treatment of 1-MCP and ClO2 delayed senescence by suppressing decay incidence, softening and the reduction of ascorbic acid, total phenolic as well as titratable acid. In addition, combination of 1-MCP + ClO2 inhibited the decreasing of pedicel browning and pedicel force, maintained the higher content of chlorophyll more effectively. Moreover, 1-MCP or ClO2 individual treatment remarkably inhibited the expression of genes, including pheophytin pheophorbide hydrolase, chlorophyllase, pheophorbide a oxygenase and red chlorophyll catabolite reductase, associated to chlorophyll catabolism in cherry pedicel. Additionally, compared to the individual treatment, the combination of 1-MCP + ClO2 contributed the maximum efficacy, especially in the middle duration of storage. Overall, our preliminary study suggested that the combined treatment of 1-MCP + ClO2 might be a promising method to preserve postharvest quality in sweet cherry fruit.

Calcium uptake through skins of sweet cherry fruit: Effects of different calcium salts and surfactants

Increasing fruit calcium (Ca) raises the quality of sweet cherry fruit. The objective was to quantify Ca mass per fruit following exposure of developing fruits to Ca salt solutions by submersion or by spraying. Mass of Ca per fruit was quantified by atomic absorption spectrometry.Time courses of Ca mass per fruit following treatment with Ca-chloride or Ca-formate revealed increasing Ca mass with time. Calcium uptake by late stage III fruit (harvest mature) generally exceeded that by stage II fruit (pit mature). Increasing Ca salt concentration increased Ca mass per fruit. The increase in Ca mass was reduced, if the pedicel cavity had previously been sealed with silicone rubber, but sealing the stylar scar had little effect. Submersion and spraying with a range of Ca salts increased Ca mass per fruit, but Ca uptake was greatest for Ca-nitrate and least for Ca-lactate or Ca-heptagluconate. There was little difference in uptake between Ca-acetate, Ca-chloride, Ca-formate or Ca-propionate. The effects on Ca uptake of additions of surfactants depended on the surfactant, the mode of application, the fruit cultivar and the developmental stage. Spraying with Ca salts in combination with Glucopon CSUP and Break-Thru S 240 showed no gain in Ca. Occasionally with ‘Hedelfinger’, Ca uptake was actually decreased by the addition of surfactant, compared with the no-surfactant controls. The latter likely resulted from a decrease in the volume of Ca solution retained on the sprayed fruit surface due to more complete surface drainage with Break-Thru S 240.The results show that spraying fruit with solutions of various Ca salts increases Ca mass per fruit. The increase is the result of penetration of Ca through the fruit skin and also through the pedicel:fruit junction. The various anion partners of the Ca salts examined made surprisingly little difference to the amount of Ca penetrating the fruit skin. Calcium uptake from those salts having lower points of deliquescence and higher water solubility was slightly greater.

Pre-harvest conditions associated with Staccato sweet cherry fruit quality: mineral status in leaves and fruitlets and orchard growing factors

Data obtained over three growing years were examined with principal component analysis to study how cherry quality was affected by pre-harvest mineral status in leaves and fruitlets and by orchard growing factors. Higher foliar levels of calcium were correlated with lower levels of pitting and pebbling in stored cherries, however there was no relationship with these disorders and fruitlet calcium content. Temperature and leaf size were associated with pebbling and pitting levels in stored cherries. Leaf and fruitlet mineral content are not the only factors to be considered in understanding fruit quality; environmental effects and management techniques should also be considered.

P-Coumaric acid induces antioxidant capacity and defense responses of sweet cherry fruit to fungal pathogens

Abstract Phenolic acids are important secondary metabolites involved in multiple physiological activities in plants, such as enzymatic activities and nutrient uptake. Given their health-promoting benefits, phenolic acids have attracted considerable research interests. However, their functions in maintaining postharvest fruit quality and suppressing disease incidence are seldom documented. Here, we reported that p-coumaric acid (p-CA) dramatically reduced the natural decay rate and maintained organoleptic quality of sweet cherry fruit, which was mainly attributed to activation of phenylpropanoid metabolic pathway and cell wall remodeling, elevated contents of non-enzymatic antioxidants and improved activities of major antioxidant enzymes. Moreover, p-CA also significantly inhibited mycelial growth of Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum, and it also reduced patulin production from P. expansum. Collectively, these results demonstrated that p-CA can improve antioxidant capacity and defense responses of sweet cherry fruit to fungal pathogens, which may provide references for understanding the freshness-keeping mechanisms relevant to plant-derived phenolic acids.

Multiple-population QTL mapping of maturity and fruit-quality traits reveals LG4 region as a breeding target in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.)

Sweet cherry maturity date and fruit quality are relevant traits for its marketability, transport, and consumer acceptance. In this work, sweet cherry fruit development time, maturity date, and commercial fruit-quality traits (size, weight, firmness, soluble solid content, and titratable acidity) were investigated to improve the knowledge of their genetic control, and to identify alleles of breeding interest. Six sweet cherry populations segregating for these traits were used for QTL analyses. These populations descend from cross- and self-pollinations of local Spanish sweet cherries ‘Ambrunés’ and ‘Cristobalina’, and breed cultivars (‘Brooks’, ‘Lambert’, or ‘Vic’). The six populations (n = 411), previously genotyped with RosBREED Cherry 6 K SNP array, were phenotyped for 2 years. QTL analyses were conducted using a multifamily approach implemented by FlexQTL™. Fruit development time, soluble solid content, and titratable acidity QTLs are first reported in sweet cherry in this work. Significant QTLs were detected for all the traits. Eighteen were more stable as they were detected for 2 years. Of these, nine are first reported in this work. The major QTLs for fruit development time, maturity date, firmness, and soluble solid content were identified on the same narrow region of linkage group 4. These traits also showed significant positive correlation (long fruit development time associated with late maturity, high firmness, and high SSC). NAC transcription factor genes identified on this LG4 region may be candidate genes for the regulation of these traits in sweet cherry, as previously described in syntenic regions of other Rosaceae species. Haplotypes of breeding interest on this LG4 genomic region were identified and will be useful for sweet cherry breeding from this and related plant material.

Integration of UV irradiation and chitosan coating: A powerful treatment for maintaining the postharvest quality of sweet cherry fruit

Sweet cherry is a non-climacteric fruit consumed more as fresh for its essential nutrients and phytochemical compounds. In this study, the single and combined effects of UV-B (21.6 kj/m2), UV-C (21.6 kj/m2) radiation, and chitosan (CS) coating 1 % treatments on fruit quality of sweet cherry were studied during 28 d at 4 °C. Sweet cherry fruit were evaluated for weight loss, firmness, total titratable acidity (TTA), pH, total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid (AA), total anthocyanin content (TAC), antioxidant (AOX) capacity and total phenol compounds (TPC) every 7d. Compared with control, fruit quality was better maintained in UV/CS treated fruit. The UV/CS treatments significantly inhibited the decrease in the firmness, TAC, and AOX capacity, and the increased rate of weight loss and TSS in the sweet cherry fruit. Although both UV lights were effective in the maintenance of fruit quality, sweet cherries treated with UV-C showed higher TPC accumulation and related AOX capacity compared to UV-B treatment. Overall, the integration of UV lights (UV-B and UV-C) with CS was the best treatment that could strongly inhibit the increase in the weight loss and TSS and achieved the highest firmness, AA, TAC, AOX capacity and TPC. Our results indicate that the integrated management is a potentially effective method for preventing undesirable post-harvest changes and extending the shelf-life of sweet cherry fruit.

COMBINED TREATMENTS OF MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING WITH AMINOETHOXYVINYLGLYCINE MAINTAINED FRUIT QUALITY IN SWEET CHERRY THROUGHOUT COLD STORAGE AND SHELF LIFE

The effects of combined aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) treatments on quality attributes of ‘0900 Ziraat’ sweet cherry fruit during the cold storage and shelf life were investigated in this study. Significantly lower weight loss and decay ratios were observed in all treatments throughout the cold storage period as compared to the control. A similar case was also observed referring to the shelf life. MAP treatments were found to be more effective in retarding the weight loss and decay ratio. Higher hue angle values were measured from AVG-treated fruit at harvest. Similarly, hue angle of AVG and MAP-treated fruit were also higher than for the control in all periods of cold storage and on the 7th and 21st day of shelf life. AVG-treated fruit had higher firmness values than the control at harvest. However, higher firmness values were measured from MAP-treated fruit during the cold storage and shelf life. At the end of cold storage, lower SSC and higher titratable acidity values were observed in AVG and MAP-treated fruit than in the control. AVG + MAP treatments yielded significantly higher vitamin C, total phenolics and antioxidant activity values than the control. Contrarily, the control fruit had significantly higher total monomeric anthocyanin than the other treatments. Based on current findings, it was concluded that combined AVG + MAP treatments could be used as a beneficial tool to maintain the quality of sweet cherry fruit throughout the cold storage and shelf life.

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

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.

Improving postharvest quality and antioxidant capacity of sweet cherry fruit by storage at near-freezing temperature

To improve postharvest quality of sweet cherry, the effect of near-freezing temperature (NFT) storage was evaluated by analyses of postharvest characteristics, biological compounds and antioxidant property. The fruit were stored at 5 °C, 0 °C and NFT (determined by biological freezing curve) respectively. NFT extended the longest storage period (up to 100 d) and maintained the consumable and better sensory quality. NFT storage delayed the senescence by suppressing respiration rate, softening, malondiadehyde accumulation and decay rate. Compared to 0 °C storage, the decay rate of fruit stored at NFT was approximately 4∼8-fold lower at the end of storage and shelf-life. NFT also reduced weight loss and biological disorder (such as pitting and pedicel browing) during sweet cherry storage. Moreover, NFT delayed color changes and improved the levels of soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total phenolic compounds, total flavnoids and total anthocyanins in sweet cherry. The SSC in fruit at NFT was about 1.2–1.4 fold higher than that of 0 °C in both cultivars sweet cherry during shelf life after 80 days of cold storage. Additionally, NFT storage also enhanced antioxidant property and delayed the peak value of antioxidant capacity in fruit. These results suggested that NFT storage could be considered as a preservation method for improving postharvest quality and antioxidant property of sweet cherry fruit.

Enhancement of quality and antioxidant metabolism of sweet cherry fruit by near-freezing temperature storage

Near-freezing temperature storage (NFTS) is a novel method to inhibit quality loss of fresh fruit. However, little information is available on NFTS delaying the onset of senescence in sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) fruit and regulating the changes on antioxidative enzymes participated in the balancing of reactive oxygen system (ROS). Fruits were stored at NFT (between super-cooling point and freezing point), 0 °C and 5 °C, respectively, until fruits exhibited visually rot (sampled every twenty days). NFTS effectively slowed senescence process in sweet cherry fruit, as indicated by extending storage duration and improving the changes of firmness, anthocyanins, ion leakage, peel color and sugars content. Moreover, fruit stored at NFT had higher levels of ascorbic acid, phenolics and organic acids and lower accumulation of carotenoids, malondiadehyde, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide radical (O2•¯). Additionally, NFTS maintained membrane integrity and prevented fresh browning of fruit by enhancing the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and gluta thione reductase (GR) and inhibiting the activities of guaiacol peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and lipoxygenase (LOX). Furthermore, NFTS fruit exhibited higher level of antioxidant capacity as measured by radical scavenging activity and reducing power at the end of storage. These results indicate that the activities of antioxidant enzymes to scavenge superoxide anions and H2O2 during NFTS was implicated in the maintenance of membrane integrity, which might be a part of the mechanism associated with the delay of senescence in sweet cherry fruit.

Effect of abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate preharvest applications on fruit quality and cracking tolerance of sweet cherry

Effect of abscisic acid and methyl jasmonate preharvest applications on fruit quality and cracking tolerance of sweet cherry

MA-packages in simulated retail conditions maintained sweet cherry fruit quality

MA-packages in simulated retail conditions maintained sweet cherry fruit quality

Effects of irrigation and gibberellic acid on yield and fruit quality of sweet cherry produced in high tunnels

Effects of irrigation and gibberellic acid on yield and fruit quality of sweet cherry produced in high tunnels

Impact of management regimes on fruit quality of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.)

ABSTRACTThe impact of alternative farming systems on fruit quality of orchard crops has been rarely examined. This study compared the effect of two management regimes with or without effective microorganisms (EMs) on fruit quality of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L. cultivar Sweetheart). After 4 years, EMs had no effect on quality; however, fruit from regime 2 based on organic amendments and no herbicide had higher total soluble solids and malic acid concentration but reduced size, compression firmness, and stem retention force than fruit from regime 1, which was based on current conventional fertigation and herbicide practices. Fruit quality of all treatments was of export standard.

Role of nitrogen fertigation in sweet cherry fruit quality and consumer perception of quality: at- and postharvest

The management of nitrogen (N) is key for commercial orchard production as N plays an important role in the quality of sweet cherry fruit. Whilst fertigation is commonly practised by cherry growers in Australia, research into optimal N supply to meet tree demands is limited and the effects of oversupply of preharvest N on fruit quality are virtually unknown. This study aims to investigate (i) the role of preharvest N application on fruit N concentration and the implications for fruit quality postharvest; (ii) consumer perception of stored fruit produced under a relatively high N supply compared with high grade export quality fruit and; (iii) how consumer perception aligns with objective quality measures of firmness (compression test by FirmTech and puncture text by Guss Texture Analyser), sugar and acid composition. Nitrogen treatments, applied as calcium nitrate, were imposed preharvest to 10 year old 'Lapin' trees on F12 rootstock in southern Tasmania through a drip irrigation system. Nitrogen concentration in cherry fruit at harvest significantly increased under the high N treatments. Fruit firmness at harvest and in storage was significantly reduced under increased N supply. Results demonstrate an immediate effect of increased N supply on cherry N concentration and fruit firmness. Sensory analysis demonstrated that consumers strongly preferred export grade over high N fruit and that perception generally matched instrumental fruit quality assessments for the range of parameters tested with the exception of firmness. Preharvest N application must be carefully managed to avoid over-supply of N and consequent detrimental impacts on fruit quality at- and postharvest.

The effect of rain protective covering on sweet cherry fruit quality

The effect of rain protective covering on sweet cherry fruit quality

Sweet cherry fruit quality under fertigation

Sweet cherry fruit quality under fertigation