Search Results
You are looking at 1 - 3 of 3 items for :
- Author or Editor: Cindy Tong* x
- HortTechnology x
Storage information regarding ‘Keepsake’ apple fruit is lacking. The objective of this research was to investigate the postharvest characteristics of ‘Keepsake’ apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.), which is a parent of ‘Honeycrisp’. Apples were obtained from three orchards in Minnesota in 2022 and 2023, assessed for quality, and stored at 0 to 1 °C or 4 to 5 °C in air. Fruit were tested for firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), and titratable acidity (TA) for up to 6 months in storage. At harvest, fruit from different orchards differed in ground color, firmness, SSC, and titratable acidity. The starch pattern index did not differ among the orchards within a year, but it was greater during the 2023 harvest than during the 2022 harvest. Fruit firmness decreased less rapidly at 0 to 1 °C than at 4 to 5 °C. Changes in SSC with storage varied by orchard, storage temperature, and year. In 2022 to 2023, SSC changes were highly variable, remained the same during storage for fruit from one orchard, increased and then decreased for fruit from another orchard, increased after 1 month of storage, and then remained unchanged thereafter for fruit from the third orchard. In 2023 to 2024, SSC was generally unchanged during storage at 0 to 1 °C, and it increased slightly over time during storage at 4 to 5 °C. Titratable acidity decreased during storage, but there was no difference between storage temperatures. These findings demonstrate the difficulty determining when to harvest ‘Keepsake’ fruit because neither starch pattern index nor ground color is a reliable indicator of ripeness. Growers must rely on experience and fruit redness to determine when to harvest this late-season cultivar. To prolong fruit firmness, growers should store ‘Keepsake’ fruit at 0 to 1 °C rather than at 4 to 5 °C.
We used choice experiments to investigate consumers’ preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) for various apple (Malus ×domestica) varieties. The experiments also asked consumers to evaluate a series of quality attributes by allowing them to taste apples. The choice experiments were conducted in real markets where consumers were making fruit purchases to eliminate any decontextualized biases. The objectives of this study were to determine how much consumers are willing to pay for 13 new and existing apple varieties and learn what quality attributes consumers’ like or dislike in new vs. older apple varieties. Results show that compared with other apple varieties, participants were willing to pay the highest prices for ‘SweeTango®’, followed by ‘Zestar!™’ and ‘Honeycrisp’. Frequent and infrequent buyers were willing to pay significantly different amounts for most of the studied varieties. In addition to WTP estimates, our study also shows what quality attributes consumers consider as improvements compared with existing varieties. Combined with objective measures of these quality attributes, our transdisciplinary study will help apple breeders make more targeted breeding decisions by better understanding what quality attributes consumers like or dislike about the studied varieties.
To learn what areas should be emphasized in future educational good agricultural practices (GAPs) training efforts, a survey on usage of GAPs was mailed to 855 vegetable growers in Minnesota. We received a 32% response rate and a 43% cooperation rate. Over 65% of respondents reported compliance to proper worker hygiene practices, harvest container and tool sanitization and cleaning, water treatment to reduce the potential for microbial contamination, and protection of growing and stored vegetables from contamination. Small acreages and a diverse array of vegetables are typical characteristics of the majority of Minnesota vegetable farms. Seventy-seven percent of respondents farmed 15 acres or less. Most farms grew 10 or more different vegetable crops, and farmers markets, u-pick operations, and roadside stands were the most common marketing outlets. Overall responses to this study indicated that farmers currently believe they adhere to many recommended food safety best practices, but are lagging in key areas such as treating wash and processing water, taking measures to keep animals out of production fields, and cleaning and disinfecting harvesting tools and containers on a scheduled basis.