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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #160376

Title: NON-DESTRUCTIVE EVALUATION OF POST HARVEST PEACH FRUIT SOFTENING

Author
item Scorza, Ralph
item Anger, William
item Bett Garber, Karen
item Champagne, Elaine
item Beaulieu, John
item Ingram, Daphne
item Peterson, Donald

Submitted to: Acta Horticulture Proceedings
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2004
Publication Date: 12/1/2004
Citation: Scorza, R., Anger, W.C., Bett Garber, K.L., Champagne, E.T., Beaulieu, J.C., Ingram, D.A., Peterson, D.L. 2004. Non-destructive evaluation of post harvest peach fruit softening. Acta Horticulture Proceedings. Acta Horticulturae 663: 269-273. 2004.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Peach fruit firmness was non-destructively measured by a drop-test device that allowed for serial measurements of the same fruits during post-harvest storage. Evaluations of post-harvest fruit softening were based on C2 values (peak impact force)/(time to impact peak force)2. The slopes of C2 values over storage time were used to compare softening between cultivars and within a cultivar harvested at 3 stages of ripening. The use of this device demonstrated the effects of harvest stage on post-harvest softening, with firmer fruit from the same cultivar generally softening at a faster rate than fruit harvested at a more advanced state of pre-harvest softening. Cultivar comparisons suggested the potential utility of non-destructive measurements in selecting genotypes with longer post-harvest storage life.