Postharvest quality comparison of six blackberry cultivars under two storage conditions

Abstract

The fruit of six blackberry cultivars “Ningzhi 3,” “Arapaho,” “Kiowa,” “Hull,” “Shuofeng,” and “Triple Crown” were stored under different storage conditions 25°C (RT) and 4°C (LT). Compared to RT treatment, LT treatment‐restricted deterioration and nutritional loss, and maintained antioxidant capacity of samples. Among LT samples, color of “Ningzhi 3,” “Hull,” and “Shuofeng” changed fewer than other cultivars, and the decay rate of “Shuofeng” and weight loss of “Hull” were lower than others. At the end of LT, total soluble solid and soluble sugar content of “Arapaho,” soluble protein content of “Shuofeng” were the highest. During the storage period, “Arapaho,” “Hull”, and “Shuofeng” maintained higher antioxidant enzyme activity and lower hydrogen peroxide content. The storage stability of “Arapaho,” “Hull,” and “Shuofeng” was better than the other three blackberry cultivars because of their better postharvest quality. This study provides a comprehensive insight into the postharvest treatment to maintain the quality of blackberry.

Trends in maintaining postharvest freshness and quality of Rubus berries

“…The optimum cold storage temperature for Rubus berries is below 4 • C (Kim et al, 2011(Kim et al, , 2015. Shi et al (2022) have evaluated the effect of low-temperature storage (4 • C) followed by a shelf period at ambient temperature and claimed that weight loss, fungal decay, and H 2 O 2 levels were significantly reduced in cold-stored blackberries, while there was an abrupt rise in these parameters during the shelf period. Contrastingly, higher levels of SSC and soluble protein were maintained in cold-stored blackberry fruit.…”