Short harvest intervals lower the chances of getting over-mature blueberries

Fresh chilean blueberries need to endure long distances in order to reach the main markets,?which is why storage potential should be enough to maintain the quality of the product. Due to the?harvest index being a coverage color of 100% blue, there usually is a great variability of berries ineach harvest. This happens because there?s an attempt of keeping the ripe berry on the plant, as?a way to diminish harvest labour. It is well known that the moment in which the harvest is done?will determine the berry?s post-harvest quality, therefore this practice can carry negative effects?over its preservation. In view of the previous information, a 3-day frequency harvest versus a?traditional 9-day frequency harvest were studied, the focus considered the effect each frequency?had over the firmness and heterogeneity presented by the berry in both harvest and post-harvest,?and taking into account the position of the berry on the plant. In this way, the first (3x1) and third?(3x3) harvests of 3-day frequency harvest were compared to the first harvest (9x1) of 9-day frequency harvest. Results showed that in terms of heterogeneity, differences weren't observed?during harvest, whereas during post-harvest 3x1 showed a batch of fruits significantly more?homogeneous. The orientation of the bunch of berries was significant to its firmness, with values? slightly lower in the west side. Regarding the firmness, 3x3 presented the highest values both during harvest and post-harvest. On the contrary, 9x1 showed the generation of berries with the highest percentages of soft berries (35-54%) after being storaged. Short harvest intervals lower the chances of getting over-mature berries, which makes them a great alternative for berry conservation when being exported. Key words: Blueberry, harvest interval, firmness, pot-harvest.? ? FuenteEfectos del intervalo de cosecha en ar?ndanos cv. Brigitta sobre la homogeneidad de?firmeza y proporci?n de fruta blanda, de acuerdo con la posici?n de la fruta en la planta,?en cosecha y postcosecha?scar Hern?n Pe?aloza Barrera, Memoria de t?tulo, Escuela de Agronom?a, Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias, Universidad de TalcaProfesor Co-Gu?a Ing. Agr?noma,?M.S., Dra Claudia Moggia LucchiniProfesor Co-Gu?a Ing. Agr?nomo,?Dr. Gustavo Lobos Pratshttp://dspace.utalca.cl/bitstream/1950/12334/3/2020A000049.pdfImagen de?Los primeros?