Physiological Response of Stored Pomegranate Fruit Affected by Simulated Impact

Abstract

Mechanical damage resulting from excessive impact force during handling and other postharvest operations from harvesting to consumption is a critical quality problem in fresh produce marketing. The study investigates the impact of bruise damage, storage temperature, and storage period on the physiological responses of Omani pomegranate fruit cultivar ‘Helow’. Fruits were subjected to low (45°; 1.18 J) and high (65°; 2.29 J) impact levels using a pendulum test by hitting the fruit on the cheek side. Bruised and non-bruised fruit were stored at 5 and 22 °C for 28 days. Bruise measurements, water loss per unit mass, water loss per surface area, firmness, fruit size measurements, geometric mean diameter, surface area, fruit volume, color parameters, respiration rate, and ethylene production rate were evaluated. Bruise area, bruise volume, and bruise susceptibility of damaged pomegranate fruit were increased as impact level, storage duration, and storage temperature increased. Pomegranates damaged at a high impact level and conditioned at 22 °C showed 20.39% weight loss on the last day of storage compared to the control and low-impact-bruised fruit. Firmness and geometric mean diameter were significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by bruising at a high impact level. Impact bruising level and storage temperature decreased lightness, yellowness, browning index, and increased redness over time. Furthermore, the respiration rate was five times higher in the non-bruised and low- and high-impact-injured fruit stored at 22 °C than that stored at 5 °C. The ethylene production rate recorded its highest value on day 21 in high-level-impact-bruised pomegranate fruit. The bruise susceptibility was strongly correlated with the majority of the studied parameters. This study can confirm that bruising can affect not only the visual quality characteristics but also the physiological attributes of pomegranate fruit; therefore, much care is required to preserve fresh produce and avoid any mechanical damage and losses during postharvest handling.

Investigation of Bruise Damage and Storage on Cucumber Quality

“…Fresh cucumber weight loss is mostly due to water loss produced by transpiration and respiration processes [11]. Pathare et al [24] showed that weight loss % was strongly impacted by the storage temperature, impact heights, and storage duration, particularly at ambient temperature.…”

“…According to Bodner and Scampicchio[27],bruising is one of the factors that causes fruit discoloration. The observed changes in color characteristics could be attributed to the rapid chlorophyll breakdown during the storage of bruise-damaged cucumbers[24].…”

Model for estimating the weight-loss ratio of damaged Korla fragrant pears

“…As a result, the delivery quality of fruits cannot meet the industrial requirements. The weight-loss ratio is an index used to evaluate the freshness basis of fruits, and it is the most intuitive index for determining changes in fruit quality [7] . It directly influences the shelf life and economic value of fruits.…”

Biomimetic spray coating for fruit preservation based on UiO-1 67 metal–organic framework nanozyme

“…organic components such as organic acids, proteins, and fats are metabolized (Jung et al, 2019). Therefore, over time, the nutritional content, flavor, color, and other characteristics of fruit will diminish (Ebrahimi et al, 2022;Pathare et al, 2023). Because it takes some time for fruit to go through processing, transportation, and retail, effective methods are needed to extend its duration of freshness (Joung et al, 2021).…”