Effect of prolonged cold storage on the sensory qualityof peach and nectarine

Abstract

To maintain peach and nectarine quality after harvest, low temperature storage is used. Low temperaturesinduce physiological disorders in peach, but the effect of cold storage on the sensory quality of the fruitbefore it is damaged by chilling injury syndrome remains unclear. To evaluate the cold storage effect on thesensory quality two peach cultivars (’Royal Glory’ and ‘Elegant Lady’) and two nectarines (’Ruby Diamond’and ‘Venus’) were harvested at a standardized firmness level and subjected to quality evaluations andsensory analysis at harvest and after storage at 0◦C for 35 d. For both time points, a supplementaryripening followed such that homogeneous flesh firmness and suitability for consumption was achieved.The fruit segregation through the Durofel firmness (DF), evaluated using a non-destructively method(Durofel device), allowed the formation of a uniform group of fruit in terms of flesh firmness (FF), showingscores between 45.1 and 55.9 N. The average FF in fruit ripened immediately after harvest was 22.9 N and25.6 N in fruit ripened after cold storage for 35 d.The “acceptability” of fruit is highly correlated with “aroma”, “sweetness”, “juiciness”, “texture” and“flavor”. Only the “acid taste” parameter had no significant correlation with “acceptability” or with theother parameters evaluated.It is possible to conclude that the sensory quality and acceptability of peach and nectarine are char-acteristic of each cultivar and change, depending on the time elapsed after harvest. In general, it wasconfirmed that nectarine cultivars have a more consistent quality than peach cultivars.