Optimum harvest data for blueberries

Harvest time has an important influence on the storability of fruits. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of harvest dates on the postharvest quality of Northland blueberries during 49 days of storage at 4?1 ?C. We examined fruit weight loss, decay rate, firmness, soluble solid content (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), vitamin C (VC), total phenol, flavonoid, anthocyanin and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and peroxidase (POD) activities in five blueberry batches with different (early, middle, and late) harvest times. The results of analysis of variance indicated that after harvest, blueberries underwent deterioration of their qualities owing to fast ripening and senescence. Among the five examined batches, those harvested 60 and 65 days after flowering (middle harvest) were less affected by the storage period. Fruits from these batches maintained longer postharvest quality and showed extended storage life through the deceleration of weight loss, decay incidence, PPO activity, softness, TA, SSC, VC, and increase in the total POD activity, phenol, flavonoid, anthocyanin, and MDA content. Our data indicated that compared with other batches, the weight loss and decay rate of middle-harvested blueberries can be reduced 5%, and the storage period can be extended 14 days. Therefore, we believe that the early and late harvested fruits are better suited for fresh fruit sales, while fruits with intermediate harvest dates are optimal for long-term storage. Our study provides a reference framework for the postharvest storage of certain blueberry cultivars by taking into account their harvest dates. SourcesEffects of harvest dates on the physiology and quality attributes of blueberries?during long-term postharvest storageDan Guo,?Xin Wei,?Hongguang Wang?and Cheng LiuPak. J. Agri. Sci., Vol. 60(2),? 2023ISSN (Print) 0552-9034, ISSN (Online) 2076-0906DOI:10.21162/PAKJAS/23.189http://www.pakjas.com.pk1 Picture,?Cuna de Platero bluebrerries?