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ComiceComice Bosc d’Anjou

ForelleStarkrimson Bartlett

European PearsEuropean Pears

European Pears are Harvested Unripe, but Mature

Firmness (lbs.‐force)

Soluble Solids (%)

Bartlett 19‐20 < 10

20‐21 10

20.5‐21.5 11

21‐22 12

D’Anjou 10‐15

Comice 9‐13

Bosc 11‐16

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Harvest by handinto large soft-sidedpicking bags.

Empty into field bins.

Dumping fruit from field bin to packingline

•Combination wet/drydump

•Dry dump

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Immersion dump from field bin to packingline

•bin pulled under water and fruit float out•need floatation salts•gentle

Sorting Pears into Two GradesCenter Lane for Canning and Juice

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Weight Sizer and Place Pack OperationWeight Sizer and Place Pack Operation

Place Pack OperationEach fruit wrapped in tissue and

placed in box in a pattern

Place Pack OperationEach fruit wrapped in tissue and

placed in box in a pattern

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Volume Fill Volume Fill

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Tray-Pack BoxCan Also Display in Box

Tray-Pack BoxCan Also Display in Box

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Consumer Bags

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Clamshell Container for Pears

Packaging that Senses Pear Ripeness

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Hammock Pack

Factors Affecting Pear QualityFactors Affecting Pear Quality

• Harvest maturity

• Delays before cold storage

• Speed of cooling

• Storage temperature

• Relative humidity in storage

• Length of storage

• Storage atmosphere - O2, CO2, ethylene

• Harvest maturity

• Delays before cold storage

• Speed of cooling

• Storage temperature

• Relative humidity in storage

• Length of storage

• Storage atmosphere - O2, CO2, ethylene

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Bartlett Pears. Mid‐season from Sacramento County

Storage life for 10 weeks from harvest day

Effect of Storage Temperature on Post-Storage Quality

-1 (30) 0

0 (32) 40

3 (38) 56

Storage Core BreakdownTemp. °C (°F) (%)

Effect of Storage Temperature on Bartlett Pear Core Breakdown After Storage and Ripening

Blanpied, 1977

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Core Breakdown

Bartlett Pears. Mid‐season from Sacramento County

‐Moved to 32 °F at Harvest, 1 day delay, 2 day delay, 3 day delay, 4 day delay and 5 day delay. Then 10 weeks of storage life.

Effect of Delays in Cooling on Post-Storage Quality

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Harvested 8/2/2001Stored 3 months

Harvested 8/2/2001Stored 3 months2°C (36 F) -1°C (30 F)

0 ppm 0 ppm

1 ppm

Effects of Temperature and Ethylene on Bartlett Pears

Effects of Temperature and Ethylene on Bartlett Pears

1 ppm

Storage ScaldStorage Scald

Methods of Control•Ethoxyquin•CA Storage

Methods of Control•Ethoxyquin•CA Storage

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Botrytis Rot

Benefits of CA StorageBenefits of CA Storage

• Delays fruit ripening and senescence

softening

yellowing

scald development

• Extends storage life

• Delays fruit ripening and senescence

softening

yellowing

scald development

• Extends storage life

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Benefits of Controlled Atmosphere Storage

Benefits of Controlled Atmosphere Storage

6 months in Air 6 months in 2% O2

Ripening Pears are Preferred 3 to 1 over Un-Ripe Pears

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Storage at 0C (32F) for two weeks or ethylene treatment enhances ripening

of ‘Bartlett’ pears at 20C (68F)

Firm

ness

(lb

s)

0

4

8

12

16

20

Firm

ness

(N

)

0

20

40

60

80

Days @ 68°F (20°C)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Eth

ylen

e pr

oduc

tion

(µl•

kg-1

h-1)

0

20

40

Air

100 ppm ethylene 24 hr

Firm

ness

(lb

s)

0

4

8

12

16

20

Firm

ness

(N

)

0

20

40

60

80

Days @ 68°F (20°C)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Eth

ylen

e pr

oduc

tion

(µl•

kg-1

h-1)

0

20

40

Air

100 ppm ethylene 24 hr

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Why do Pears Need Conditioning?

Why do Pears Need Conditioning?

• Pears have insufficient capacity to produce ethylene at harvest– lack of precursor, ACC

• ACC accumulates during cold storage

• Ethylene treatment stimulates production of ACC and ethylene

• Pears have insufficient capacity to produce ethylene at harvest– lack of precursor, ACC

• ACC accumulates during cold storage

• Ethylene treatment stimulates production of ACC and ethylene

Ethylene Production during RipeningEthylene Production during Ripening

• More uniform softening

• Enhanced production of flavor and aroma volatiles

• Improved texture of fruit– buttery, not gritty

– juicy

• More uniform softening

• Enhanced production of flavor and aroma volatiles

• Improved texture of fruit– buttery, not gritty

– juicy

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0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

0 5 8 10 12 14 16 18

Fru

it fir

mne

ss (l

bf) a

fter

7 d

ays

at 6

8 F

Conditioning temperature (C)

10

20

30

40

Conditioning time (days)

F: 32 41 46 50 54 57 61 64

Anjou Pear   Conditioning Temperatures 2009

David Sugar, OSU 2009

Conditioning Pears for Ripening

Comice Bartlett Bosc Anjou

Cold Storage @ 30-32°F 4 2-3 2 8 wks

Cold Storage @ 40-50°F 2-3 1 1 3-6wks

100ppm Ethylene @ 68°F 3 1-2 1 3 days

100ppm Ethylene @ 45-50º ? 2-3 ? ? days

Cold storage requirements may be longer when fruit are stored in CA

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APPLES

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California Apples

Granny Smith

Gala

FujiMalus domestica, Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) online database. 2012

Goal

Maximize

• Storage life

• Blush

• Sensory quality– Crispness

– Flavor

– Sweetness

• Size

Minimize

• Softening and mealiness

• Disorders– Bitter pit

– Scald

– Internal browning

– Checking

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• Days from full bloom• Time/temp (heat units) from

anthesis• Days from harvest to onset of

ethylene production• Ground color• Soluble solids content (SSC)• Flesh firmness and SSC• Starch disappearance pattern• Internal ethylene concentration• Changes in firmness or starch

content

Re

lativ

e V

alu

e

0

20

40

60

80

100

RespirationFruit Growth

EthyleneStorage Life

Cell Division Cell Expansion Climacteric

Maturation Ripening Senescence

Streif Index considers starch, sugar, and firmness

Indicators of Harvest Maturity

Dry matter correlated % SS2010 Palmer et al., J Sci Food Agric 90:2586-2594

Hand Harvest into Rigid or Padded Picking BagsHighly Susceptible to Bruising; Carefully Transfer to Field Bin!!

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Apple Bruising Incidence during Harvest and Postharvest Handling

Bruises/

Fruit

% Bruised Fruit

Picking/dumping 2.6 18.8

Hauling from field 2.2 15.9

Packing Line 5.5 61.6

Transportation 0.5 3.7

Total 13.8 100

Minimize bruising on apples; http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/EMK2006B.pdf

Field bins loaded onto a trailer

•Wooden bins maybe lined with plasticto reduce abrasion

•Better to keep bins on trailer from harvest to packingto avoid soil on bin

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Drenching bins ofapples prior tostorage

•Diphenylamine-antioxidant to controlscald

•Fungicide•Calcium to controlbitter pit

Immersion of binsApples naturally float•Very gentle to avoid bruising

Washing apples with brushes and detergent

Wax application

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Wax ApplicationWax Application

Optical Sorting for Color, Size and DefectsOptical Sorting for Color, Size and Defects

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Hand sortingremains necessaryeven with electronicsorting

Tray packing after sizing Tray packs,Bulk packagingBags and bins

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Apple Storage

• 0-1°C (32-34°F)

• 90-95% RH

• Ethylene can accelerate senescence and loss of firmness

• Controlled atmospheres and/or 1-MCP for long-term storage

• Differences among apple cultivars

Controlled Atmosphere Storage

• Store 1.5 to 12+ months

• 0.7 to 3% oxygen

• 0.5 to 4% carbon dioxide

• Maintains firmness, ground color and acidity by reducing respiration and the effects of ethylene

• Reduces storage scald and bitter pit

• May induce disorders such as internal browning

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CA/MA Recommendations for Apples

Cultivar % O2 % CO2 Temp, °C Storage, mo.

Braeburn 1.8 1.0 0.7 6-9

Fuji 1.4 1.0 0.3 7-11

Gala 1.7 1.6 1.3 2-9

Golden Delicious 1.6 2.3 0.5 7-11

Granny Smith 1.4 2.0 0.6 7-11

Idared 2.1 2.5 1.9 7-10

Jonagold 1.4 2.7 0.9 5-10

McIntosh 2.1 2.9 2.5 5-10

Red Delicious 1.6 1.8 0.0 6-11

Royal Gala 1.7 1.8 -0.2 5-8

Average 1.7 2.0 0.9

Average optimum levels; from Kuperferman, e. 1997. Controlled atmosphere storage of apples. CA’97. Proc. Vol. 2, pp. 1-30. Postharvest Horticulture Series, Univ. California, Davis.

Controlled Atmospheres• Rapid CA

– Establish in 1 to 3 days compared with 20 days

• High CO2 or low O2 initial shock– 20% CO2 for 2 hours

• Greater effect on ACC oxidase activity

– 0.5% O2 for 1 to 3 days• Greater inhibition of storage scald

• Ultra-low O2 CA

• Dynamic controlled atmospheres– Monitor ethanol or chlorophyll fluorescence

Recent years:1-MCP (SmartFresh) replacing or used in conjunction with CA

Watkins, C.B. 2008. Acta Hort. 796: 51- 58.

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Effect of Carbon Dioxide Concentration on Internal Browning

0.4% CO2

2% O2

1.5% CO2

2% O2

3% CO2

2% O2

Air

Fuji ApplesHarvest 10/17/92

4 months @ 0.5ºC

Penicillium expansum•Wound pathogen•Controlled by low temperature

Botrytis Rot• Side, stem or blossom infections• Growth is reduced at 0°C

•Damage occurs in the field•May turn brown in storage•Usually on one side of fruit

Sunburn on Apples

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Storage Scald on Granny Smith Apples

•Oxidative damage to upper cell layers•Cultivars vary in susceptibility•Hot and dry climates increase susceptibility•Diphenylamine used for control

Precursor into α-farnesene into conjugated trienols causes death of epidermal cellsEthylene stimulates, DPA and low O2 retard

BITTER PIT

• Low calcium, high nitrogen

• Vigorous trees

• Water stress

• Large fruit

• Low maturity fruit

• Develops on tree or during first 4 to 6 weeks of storage

• Control with calcium applications (pre and post harvest)

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An accumulation of sorbitol in the intercellular spaces

Mealiness• Soft texture causing a dry

feeling in the mouth during chewing– Low adhesion between cells– Retain strong cell walls

• Cells pull apart instead of breaking when you bite – no juicy sensation

• Cultivars vary in their susceptibility

• Develops after extended cold storage

Fracture surfaces of mealy (upper picture; cell-to-cell debonding) and crisp (lower picture; cell rupture) Braeburn apples. Roger Harker et al., 2000http://postharvest.tfrec.wsu.edu/pgDisplay.php?article=PC2000BB

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Use of SmartFresh on Apples1-methylcyclopropane

• Applied at harvest in storage room

• Prevents/reduces the action of ethylene on the apples

• Use alone or together with CA

• Maintains firmness and titratable acidity

• No effect on starch conversion to sugars

• Reduces storage scald and mealiness

Initial Fruit Quality

Determines the Ripened Quality!!

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Questions?