Effect of different storage methods for the self-life and the fungal populations of the Hungarian sour cherry cultivars

The modified atmosphere has been widely used for long-time storage of different fruits. The aim of our research was the investigation of the pre- and postharvest techniques in case of the different (Normal, MAP) storages for the control and the treatment of sour cherry. Different sour cherry cultivars were examined during the study: 'Érdi bőtermő', 'Petri', and 'Újfehértói fürtös'. Shelf-life was monitored using disease severity index (DI%) for detecting the activity of fruit decaying fungi. The incidence of the different fungi were also comparing at the end of the shelf-life tests. We concluded that the MAP storage has decreased the decay percentage. Different decay incidence and severity was detected for the different cultivars during shelf-life studies at room temperature. The storage also has decreased shelf-life of the fruits of the 'Érdi bőtermő' cultivar, following 6 weeks of 0-2°C cold storage. The rate of the detected fungal genera reduced following cold storage. The optimization of the storage and the shelf-life of the Prunus cerasus fruits providing longer time for availability of fresh fruit with high nutritional value with the help of cold MAP storage. The postharvest techniques of the sour cherry can be developed with the adaptation of the methods used for other stone fruits in Hungary.