Abstract

NUNEZ BARRIOS, Abelardo; SANCHEZ CHAVEZ, Esteban; RUIZ VEGA, Jaime  and  SCOTT NESMITH, D.. Postharvest quality of blueberry cultivars (Vaccinium sp.) as affected by prestorage time and temperatures. Agric. Téc. Méx [online]. 2008, vol.34, n.4, pp.453-457. ISSN 0568-2517.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of prestorage time and temperature on blueberry firmness and fruit mass loss. Cultivars under study were Bright-well (BW), Tifblue (TB) and Powderblue (PB). Tested temperatures in the climatic chambers were 1, 12, 22 and 32 °C and the prestorage time were 12, 24, 36 and 48 h. Initial firmness values for the three cultivars were 167.8, 194.3 and 214.6 g mm^-1 and after two weeks firmness losses fluctuated between 5.4 and 20.8% for all treatments. Prestorage time interval of 12 h did not affect fruit firmness of BW and TB at any temperature, however, intervals greater than 24 h at 22 °C diminished fruit firmness for all cultivars. Fruit mass loss was greater at 32 °C where the cultivar PB lost 41.8 and 63.5% more weight than TB and BW, respectively. The cultivar BB was the most resistant to fruit deterioration. Cultivar PB has to be refrigerated after harvesting to avoid losses of fruit mass and firmness. Postharvest handling must be defined for each cultivar.

Keywords : Vaccinium sp.; blueberry; posharvest; fruit quality; firmness.

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