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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #67373
Title: QUALITY OF 'BRIGHTWELL' AND 'TIFBLUE' BLUEBERRIES FOLLOWING GAMMA IRRADIATION

Author
item Miller, William
item McDonald, Roy

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/5/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Blueberries shipped to some domestic and export markets must be fumigated with methyl bromide (MB) for quarantine treatment against unwanted insect pests. Methyl bromide is scheduled to be banned from usage for this purpose in the U.S. by January 2001. In this study two commercial rabbiteye cultivars, 'Brightwell' and 'Tifblue' produced in Georgia were tested for their horticultural tolerance to gamma irradiation as an alternative quarantine treatment to replace MB. Irradiation at 1.0 kGy slightly softened berries and had a negative impact on the palatability of berries. Irradiation at 0.5 kGy had no negative impact which would affect the commercial marketing of these blueberry cultivars. Irradiation at about 0.3 kGy is expected to be effective for control of major insect pests of fresh blueberries. Hence irradiation should provide growers with a viable alternative quarantine treatment as a replacement for MB.

Technical Abstract: The two major commercial blueberry cultivars grown in Georgia, 'Brightwell' and 'Tifblue', were subjected to low dose gamma irradiation (cobalt 60) and evaluated after treatment and storage for changes in quality and condition that may impact marketing. After irradiation and 1, 3, 7, or 14 days of storage at 1C, 95%, 94%, 89%, and 81% of 'Brightwell' berries, respectively were marketable, and, 94%, 94%, 97%, and 95%, respectively, of 'Tifblue' berries were marketable. Berry flavor and texture (palatability) were slightly negatively impacted by irradiation dose at 1.0 kGy but not at 0.5 kGy. Other quality attributes including total soluble solids, titratable acidity, decay, weight loss, and color were not affected by irradiation treatment. Low dose irradiation could likely be a viable alternative quarantine treatment to replace methyl bromide (MB) fumigation of fresh blueberries, since MB is scheduled to be banned from usage as an quarantine fumigant January 2001.