In-field hydrocooling: effect on postharvest quality of sweet cherries

摘要

Shelf-life of sweet cherries is limited even in ideal storage conditions. The hydrocooling systems implanted in some fruit plants of the Jerte Valley represent a great advance for shelf-life improvement expanding market opportunities. However, the elapsed time between fruit harvesting and hydrocooling is sometimes too high. In an attempt to extend the success of this system, the postharvest quality of 'Sweetheart' cherries subjected to a fast hydrocooling in field was assessed shortly after harvesting. The results show that this new cooling strategy would likely have a big impact in customer acceptance. Compared to sweet cherries cooled 24 h after harvesting, those precooled in the field showed a higher acceptability index (total soluble solid/totalacidity), and improved appearance, due to their greener and more turgid pedicels, and their minor visual dehydration. An undesirable side effect of the in-field hydrocooling was a slight increase in mechanical damage.