Agronomy (Jan 2022)

Effect of Controlled Atmospheres and Environmental Conditions on the Physicochemical and Sensory Characteristics of Sweet Cherry Cultivar Satin

  • Luís Pinto de Andrade,
  • Abel Veloso,
  • Christophe Espírito Santo,
  • Pedro Dinis Gaspar,
  • Pedro Dinho Silva,
  • Mafalda Resende,
  • Helena Beato,
  • Cátia Baptista,
  • Cristina Miguel Pintado,
  • Luísa Paulo,
  • Maria Paula Simões

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010188
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
p. 188

Abstract

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Sweet cherry is a highly appreciated seasonal fruit with a high content of bioactive compounds; however, this highly perishable fruit has a relatively short shelf-life period. Here, we evaluated the evolution of the physicochemical and sensory qualities of sweet cherries (Prunus avium (L.) cv. Satin) under different storage conditions, namely at a Farmers’ Organization (FO) and in a Research Centre (RC) under normal and four different conditions of controlled atmosphere for 49 days. Additional parameters were monitored, such as rotten fruit incidence and stem appearance. Temperature was the factor that most influenced the fruit quality changes over the study time. In fact, fruits stored at higher mean temperatures showed higher weight loss, higher variation in CIE-Lab colour parameters, higher firmness loss, and browner and more dehydrated stems and were less appealing to the consumer. Controlled atmosphere conditions showed a smaller decrease in CIE-Lab colour parameters and lower weight loss. The incidence of rotting was very low and was always equal or lower than 2% for all conditions. Thus, RC chamber conditions were able to sustain fruit quality parameters over 28 days under normal atmosphere conditions and 49 days under controlled atmosphere conditions.

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