Commercial handling influences quality and ripening of Bartlett pears

Abstract

Pear fruit injury occurs during harvest and additional injuries occur during postharvest handling in packinghouses. With increased commercial handling, Bartlett pears exhibited higher rates of ethyiene production and respiration, which are associated with ripening. Fruit softening and change in skin color from green to yellow occurred faster in pears that were harvested by a commercial crew and then dumped onto the packing line, as compared to pears that were harvested by a commercial crew, without packing-line handling. Immersion dumps used with flotation salts may be less damaging to pears as compared to non-immersion dumps.