Fuji Apple Fruit Quality: Effect of Harvest Maturity and Storage Temperatures

September 25,2024

Fuji apples are among the top cultivars produced in the US. This late season cultivar stands out for its great quality and consumer acceptability, as well as for its good storage potential. Nevertheless, overall Fuji apple fruit quality can be impacted by several factors, including environmental conditions, preharvest management practices, stage of maturation at harvest, and postharvest storage temperatures, each affecting fruit marketability. Fruit maturity at harvest is a critical factor affecting postharvest ripening and flavor development, and therefore a determinant of postharvest handling of fruit. Too early a harvest may result in pronounced lack of flavor development, while late-harvested fruit undergoes rapid firmness loss during storage. In contrast, harvest of unripe fruit enhances a number of desirable characteristics, such as lengthened ripening period and delayed decline in firmness, acidity and green ground-color relative to ripe fruit. On the other hand, less mature fruit generally do not develop typical full flavor, and as a result taste is often strongly impaired. The objective of this research is to evaluate the effect of different harvest maturities and different storage temperatures on fruit quality and ripening patterns in Fuji apples grown under the Mid-Atlantic conditions.

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