Comparison of the shelf life and surface mold population of Hungarian Prunus cerasus cultivars following different pre- and postharvest treatments

K. Mihály, Cs. Kovács, A. Nagy, F. Takács, E. Sándor
Hungary is among the three largest tart cherry (Prunus cerasus) producers in the European Union, and also the world’s largest fresh tart cherry exporter. There is restricted information about the efficacy of options to decrease postharvest losses, primarily caused by postharvest diseases. The optimization of the pre- and postharvest treatments would extend the availability of the fruit period. The aim of our research was to compare the efficacy of different pre- and postharvest treatments to extend the shelf life of three Hungarian tart cherry cultivars (‘Érdi bőtermő’, ‘Újfehértói fürtös’ and ‘Petri’) obtained from the same orchard. Fungicide (Luna Privilege) and biofungicide (Serenade ASO) were applied two weeks before harvest. Harvested fruits were stored for 6 weeks at 0°C either in normal or in modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), using StePac Xtend (cherry). Surface mold population on fruit were studied by determining colony forming unit (CFU) and the colony morphology. Shelf-life was monitored, and disease incidence was calculated during one week before and following storage. Molds were isolated from rotten fruits during shelf-life studies and identified based on morphological and molecular characters. Differences in shelf life and the surface mold CFUs were observed between the different cultivars. The efficacy of the preharvest treatments was also influenced by the cultivars. Both preharvest treatments have successfully increased the proportion of healthy fruits with almost 10% after harvest. The biocontrol agent treatment was able to strengthen the epidermis of the fruits. Weight loss and the percentage of decay were significantly reduced by MAP combined with cold storage. Penicillium sp., Alternaria sp., Fusarium sp. and Rhizopus sp. were the most frequent fungi isolated from the surface of the fruits.
Mihály, K., Kovács, Cs., Nagy, A., Takács, F. and Sándor, E. (2021). Comparison of the shelf life and surface mold population of Hungarian Prunus cerasus cultivars following different pre- and postharvest treatments. Acta Hortic. 1325, 347-356
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1325.48
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1325.48
MAP, Luna Privilege, serenade ASO, sour cherry
English

Acta Horticulturae