An Investigation Into The Fruit Firmness Properties of Some Progeny and Cultivars of Red Raspberry (Rubus Idaeus)

Abstract

Raspberries (Rubus ideaus L.) are popular and a major UK soft fruit crop. Several efforts have been geared towards developing an improved cultivar that will have a longer shelf-life. A 1 to 2 days improvement in fruit shelf-life would increase the value of harvested fruit and reduce waste. This research work investigated the firmness characteristics of 22 progeny (clones) derived from a Glen Moy x Latham mapping population by recording the various hardness values at 4 0 C over a 7 day storage period. A QTS-Texture Analyser was used to measure hardness values and the results were analyzed using Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML) analysis. The parameters measured were: hardness, hardness1_workdone, final load, and sample length (diameter). Overall, there were significant differences (p<0.001) in the total hardness measurements between progeny. This research shows that some red raspberry clones from Glen Moy x Latham mapping population can stay wholesome after 7 days of storage at 4 0 C. This is a good development for red raspberry processors and the supermarkets.

Influences of Postharvest Storage and Processing Techniques on Antioxidant and Nutraceutical Properties of Rubus idaeus L.: A Mini-Review

“…This postharvest storage is necessary because raspberry fruits have a short postharvest life due to their high respiration rate and loss of firmness [32]. Progressive loss of firmness is associated with a loss of skin strength that leads to fruit softening, which in turn favors the onset of molds with loss of the product [33,34]. Studies conducted on the relationship between normal cold storage conditions and shelf-life of red raspberry fruits have established that raspberries can be successfully stored near 1 to 2 • C up to about 10 days, though these conditions do not reflect a realistic storage (usually 4 to 5 • C) [15,35,36].…”

Postharvest physiology and storage potential of new Chilean raspberry cultivars

“…Several raspberry genetic programs have arisen worldwide, mainly focused on obtaining new cultivars with better morphological traits, higher quality standards for consumers and adaptations to growing conditions (Hall et al, 2009). However, one of the greatest concerns for researchers and the fruit industry is the high perishability of the raspberry fruit due to its rapid loss-of-firmness rate and, therefore, a limited storage life (Oduse and Cullen, 2012). Currently, Chile is the sixth largest producer of raspberries, with 32 000 t in 2019, and of these, 24 714 t were frozen fruit destined mainly to USA and Canada (ODEPA, 2020).…”

“…Generally, postharvest studies have focused on how quality parameters change under certain storage conditions and what technologies can be applied to delay the senescence process. For instance, some of these studies have focused on fruit handling for firmness (Oduse and Cullen, 2012) and maintenance of the bright red color during storage, since a darker red color that appears during storage is less attractive to consumers (Stavang et al, 2015) and reflects that the fruit is more prone to decay (Zhang et al, 2020). Additionally, other studies have tried to establish an optimum maturity stage at harvest by using color as harvest index and to predict its evolution during storage for specific cultivars (Stavang et al, 2015).…”

Vacuum impregnation of firming agents in red raspberries

“…Gradient (G C3 ) is the slope of the curve in the linear zone prior to rupture point. F M and G C3 can be used to measure firmness of fruit …”