Storage and after-ripening of pears

摘要

Pear fruits (cultivars Conference, Vereinsdechant and Alexander Lucas) were stored for 4 to 16 weeks at 1, 4 or 16℃ then after-ripened for 3-4 days at 20deg . Ripening stages were estimated using weight loss, skin colour, firmness and eating quality parameters. Alexander Lucas fruits had the longest shelf-life, irrespective of storage temperature, and Conference fruits had the shortest. Skin colour and firmness were the best parameters for estimating harvesting date. Subjective criteria such as skincolour, firmness and taste were related to analytical measurements of penetration and a-value (CIELAB) when assessing fruit quality after storage and ripening.