Blueberry endogenous ethylene production affects fruit quality and storability

Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) are highly perishable fruits due to several physiological, physical, and pathological processes during postharvest life. Decay, mainly due to Botrytis cinerea, and weight loss due to moisture loss induce softening and skin wrinkling and, consequently, reduce blueberry shelf-life and organoleptic quality. Therefore, it is necessary to develop strategies to increase blueberry storage life. The role of ethylene in regulating blueberry fruit ripening and storability is still unclear although an increase in ethylene production was observed in several studies during fruit ripening. The aim of this study was to evaluate the fruit ethylene production of 12 blueberry cultivars at different fruit ripening stages and after cold storage, considering also textural modifications. Results of this study revealed a high variability in ethylene production between genotypes. These differences in ethylene production are related with blueberry fruit storage performances based on flavour and textural alterations. Specifically, blueberry accessions characterized by highest ethylene production showed a more severe texture decay during storage. Our results support the possibility of tailoring ad hoc preharvest and postharvest strategies to extend blueberry shelf life and quality according with the endogenous ethylene production level of each cultivar.