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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wenatchee, Washington » Physiology and Pathology of Tree Fruits Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #350326
Research Project: Developmental Genomics and Metabolomics Influencing Temperate Tree Fruit Quality

Location: Physiology and Pathology of Tree Fruits Research

Title: Relationship between dry matter content at harvest and maturity index and post-harvest quality of "Fuji" apples

Author
item VIERIA, MARCELO - EPAGRI
item ARGENTA, LUIZ - EPAGRI
item MATTHEIS, JAMES

Submitted to: Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/14/2018
Publication Date: 6/8/2018
Citation: Vieria, M., Argenta, L., Mattheis, J.P. 2018. Relationship between dry matter content at harvest and maturity index and post-harvest quality of "Fuji" apples. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura. 40:e-596. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0100-29452018596.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-29452018596

Interpretive Summary: Not all apples are created equal. Even those of the same variety can have differences in appearance and edible quality when produced in different orchards at different locations in different years. For example, while all ‘Fuji’ apples are certainly ‘Fuji’s, local environmental conditions and how individual orchards are managed can result in fruit quality differences that may or may not be apparent at harvest or after storage. Apple growers use several simple tests to identify when fruit is ready to be harvested, and apple storage warehouses also perform tests to identify which fruit to store for short or long periods. Additional tests that can be performed prior to and/or after harvest would increase the ability of growers and warehouses to make informed decisions for harvest and storage. This manuscript identified an additional test that may provide new information to apple industry personnel. Use of this information ultimately could enhance apple fruit consistency at retail as well as reduce the amount of fruit lost during storage.

Technical Abstract: Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the relationship between dry matter content (DMC) and maturity index of ‘Fuji’ apple fruit sports (‘Mishima’, ‘Fuji Select’ and ‘Fuji Suprema’) during the final stage of fruit growth, and the relationship between DMC at harvest and the post-harvest fruit quality. Fruits were harvested from orchards of three regions (Caçador, São Joaquim and Vacaria), on two rootstocks (M9 and Marubakaido with M9 interstock). In experiment 1, fruits were periodically sampled along 83 days before and during the commercial harvest period, in 2014. In experiment 2, fruits were harvested at the beginning of commercial harvest window (2014) and two week later (2014 and 2015) and stored in air at 0.5 ºC or controlled atmosphere at 0.7 ºC, respectively. Apple fruit maturity on the tree was characterized by decrease of flesh firmness and increase of starch index and soluble solids content (SS) and by a small change in DMC. DMC at harvest was correlated with flesh firmness and SS content in one of two years, and it was not correlated with the incidence of disorders after storage. The results show that DMC at harvest is not suitable as a maturity index of ‘Fuji’ apples, and its use as a post-harvest quality predictor is not consistent between crop years.