HIGH CARBON DIOXIDE EFFECTS ON KEEPING QUALITY OF SWEET CHERRY

The main problems in maintaining sweet cherry quality are weight loss and fungal attack. Application of higher than 10% CO₂ levels is a good technique to inhibit fungal development on cold stored cherries (Chapon et al., 1984; Artés, 1995; Lurie et al., 1997). This technique could be particularly interesting for improving the shelf life of “Ambrunés” sweet cherry, which commonly takes the highest prices in the European market, because it is shipped without stems, with the consequent risk of fungal development. The present study investigated the effect of innovative CO₂ shocks compared to continuous high CO₂ concentration, on the postharvest behaviour of the 'Ambrunés' cherry cultivar.