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Blueberry is widely grown around the world, and the United States is the leading producer. A strategy to maintain fruit quality during commercial handling is rapid cooling using the forced-air system. Hydrocooling (HY) is an effective cooling method widely used for many crops and has potential as a cooling method for blueberry. The objective of this study was to compare the cooling efficiency of conventional forced-air cooling (FA), the current commercial method, with immersion HY alone or HY in combination with FA (HY + FA), and to determine effects on blueberry fruit quality during subsequent cold storage. ‘Emerald’ and ‘Farthing’ southern highbush blueberry were commercially harvested and packed into plastic clamshell containers. FA was accomplished by simulating commercial conditions using a small-scale unit within a cold room at 1 °C/80% relative humidity (RH) until 7/8 cooling was achieved (27 minutes). For HY, fruit in clamshells (125 g) were immersed in chlorinated ice water (200 ppm free Cl⁻¹, pH = 7.0) and 7/8 cooling occurred in 4 minutes. For HY + FA, fruit were 7/8 hydrocooled then transferred to FA for 30 minutes to remove free water from the fruit. After the cooling treatments, clamshells were evaluated weekly for selected quality parameters during 21 days storage at 1 °C. For HY treatment, the 1/2 cooling time was 1.13 minutes for ‘Emerald’ and 1.19 minutes for ‘Farthing’, whereas for FA treatment, the 1/2 cooling times were 4.5 and 6.8 minutes, respectively. For ‘Farthing’, cooling method did not affect fruit firmness; after 21 days, there was a slight softening in fruit from all treatments. However, ‘Emerald’ fruit cooled by HY + FA were softer than those from either HY or FA after 14 days of storage. For all cooling methods ‘Emerald’ was less acidic (0.3% citric acid) and was sweeter [10.2% soluble solids content (SSC)] than ‘Farthing’ (0.6% citric acid, 9.4% SSC). There were no differences in bloom among cooling methods. Bloom ratings for ‘Emerald’ remained >4.5 (70% to 80% coverage) whereas that for ‘Farthing’ cooled by HY or HY + FA was 3.7. Anthocyanin concentration in ‘Emerald’ fruit from HY + FA cooling method decreased by 33% during 21 days of storage, whereas that for ‘Farthing’ remained constant (8.3 mg cyanidin-3-Glicoside/g) irrespective of treatment during storage. Compared with ‘Farthing’, ‘Emerald’ was more sensitive to HY, where ≈15% of fruit developed visual skin breaks (split) after 7 days storage. HY shows potential as an alternative method to rapidly and thoroughly cool southern highbush blueberries such as ‘Farthing’, thus, maintaining fruit quality, while introducing a rinsing and sanitizing treatment. HY needs to be tested on commercial cultivars to determine the incidence of fruit splitting.

Three southern highbush blueberry cultivars (Vaccinium corymbosum hybrids) were mechanically harvested (MH) or hand-harvested (HH) and commercially packed before storage for 14 days at 1 °C in two successive years. MH fruit were softer, had lower ratings for overall appearance, and lost up to 20% more fresh weight than HH fruit after 14 days storage. MH ‘Meadowlark’ had fewer soft fruit (<35%) during storage than either ‘Sweetcrisp’ or ‘Farthing’; however, the latter two cultivars had lower incidences of shrivel and weight loss. Fruit in the 2010 season were more susceptible to bruising than those from the 2009 season; however, soluble solids content (SSC), total titratable acidity (TTA), and ascorbic acid concentration remained constant during storage and between seasons. ‘Meadowlark’ had the highest sugar to acid ratio (25.0). Successful implementation of MH of southern highbush blueberries for fresh market will only be commercially feasible if harvest impacts are further reduced.

Two Guatemalan-West Indian avocado (Persea americana) hybrids (‘Monroe’ and ‘Booth 8’) were treated with an aqueous formulation of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) to determine effects on ripening and quality during storage simulating commercial shipping temperatures. Fruit harvested at preclimacteric stage were immersed in aqueous 1-MCP at 75 μg·L⁻¹ (1.39 mmol·m⁻³) or in deionized water for 1 minute, stored at 10 °C for 14 days, and then transferred to 20 °C until ripe. Respiration rate, ethylene production, softening, and change in epidermal hue* angle were delayed and/or suppressed in both cultivars exposed to 1-MCP, although effects were less pronounced with Booth 8. Hue* angles for 1-MCP-treated ‘Monroe’ fruit had the highest values (darkest green peel color) of all treatments at full-ripe stage (hue* angle = 117). For control and treated ‘Monroe’ fruit respiration peaked on days 15 and 21, while ethylene production from both treatments peaked on day 16. Respiration and ethylene production peaked on day 16 for both control and 1-MCP–treated ‘Booth 8’ fruit. Fruit treated with 1-MCP consistently showed diminished respiration and ethylene peaks. Days to full-ripe stage were unaffected by treatment. ‘Booth 8’ fruit from both treatments were considered ripe (15 N whole fruit firmness) after 17 days; however, only 8% of control fruit were marketable, whereas 58% of 1-MCP-treated fruit were marketable, based on subjective appearance ratings using the Jenkins–Wehner score. The development of peel blemishes during storage was the primary cause of unmarketable fruit. ‘Monroe’ control and 1-MCP–treated fruit were soft after about 22 days and were significantly more marketable (control 70% and 1-MCP 85%). Avocados treated with 1-MCP ripened over a longer period than control fruit but maintained a higher percentage of marketable fruit.

Datil hot pepper (Capsicum chinense) has potential for increased production due to its unique, spicy flavor and aroma. However, few reports have been published related to postharvest handling characteristics. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of harvest maturity on fruit quality under simulated commercial storage conditions. ‘Wanda’ datil pepper plants were grown hydroponically under protected culture. Fruit were harvested at yellow and orange maturity stages, placed in vented clamshell containers, and stored at 2, 7, or 10 °C for 21 days. Peppers harvested at yellow stage maintained greater quality than orange peppers during storage at all temperatures. Marketable fruit after 21 days for peppers harvested at the yellow stage was 94% (2 °C), 88% (7 °C), and 91% (10 °C); that for orange-stage peppers was 68%, 74%, and 82% for the same respective temperatures. No chilling injury (CI) symptoms were observed in these tests. Initial pepper moisture content was 90%, decreasing only slightly during 21 days of storage; weight loss ranged from 2% to 8%. Soluble solids content (SSC) was greater for peppers harvested at the orange stage (9.5%) than for those at yellow stage (7.8%). Neither harvest maturity nor storage temperature affected total titratable acidity (TTA; 0.13%) or pH (5.3). Respiration rate varied with temperature but not by harvest maturity and ranged from 12 to 25 mg·kg⁻¹ per hour after 8 days of storage. Peppers harvested orange contained double the amount of total carotenoids as yellow fruit. Carotenoid content for yellow and orange peppers was 58 and 122 µg·g⁻¹, respectively. Capsaicinoid content ranged from 1810 to 4440 µg·g⁻¹ and was slightly greater for orange-harvested peppers. Datil peppers harvested at the yellow stage and stored in vented clamshell containers had better quality than peppers harvested at the orange stage after 21 days at 2 °C.