The effect of postharvest calcium application in hydro-cooling water on tissue calcium content, biochemical changes, and quality attributes of sweet cherry fruit

Abstract

To improve storage/shipping quality of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.), the effect of calcium chloride (CaCl2) added to hydro-cooling water on physiological and biochemical processes related to fruit and pedicel quality was investigated on two major cultivars. The fruit tissue Ca content increased up to 29-85% logarithmically for 'Sweetheart' and 39-188% linearly for 'Lapins' as CaCl2 rate increased from 0.2% to 2.0% at 0 °C for 5 min. The increase of fruit tissue Ca content was accompanied by reductions in respiration rate, ascorbic acid degradation, and membrane lipid peroxidation, which enhanced total phenolics content and total antioxidant capacity, and resulted in increases in fruit firmness and pitting resistance and decreases in titratable acidity loss and decay of both cultivars. Pedicel browning was inhibited by CaCl2 at 0.2% and 0.5%, but increased by higher rates at 1.0% and 2.0%, possibly via modifying membrane lipid peroxidation.

Keywords: Calcium content; Lipid peroxidation; Nutritional quality; Senescence; Storage/shipping quality; Sweet cherry.