C 



E 



10/24 



Figure 2. Flesh firmness of Sansa ftiiit immediately following (at harvest), 2, 4, 

 6, and 8 weeks of storage at 32°F (represented by the first point of each line) and 

 after 1 week at room temperature (represented by the second point of each line). 



Storage at 32°F for future evaluation. Flesh firmness of 

 ten fruit was evaluated using a McCormick Fruit 

 Company penetrometer. They were then cut m half 

 and dipped in iodine solution and rated for starch 

 staming on a scale of 1 to 8 using the Cornell Generic 

 Starch Chart. The remaining ten fruit were kept at 

 room temperature for 7 days, after which flesh 

 firmness was measured. On September 12, September 

 27, October 11, and October 25 the remaining bags of 

 fruit were removed from storage. Flesh firmness often 

 fruit was assessed immediately, and firmness of ten 

 fruit was measured after 7 days at room temperature. 



Results 



Results in 1996 and 1997 were very similar for all 

 varieties, so only the 1997 data are presented. 

 Ginger Gold (Figure 1). The average starch rating of 

 Ginger Gold fruit was 2.8 at harvest, and fruit had a 

 flesh firmness of 18.6 pounds. When left a room 



temperature for 1 week, 

 firmness dropped to 16.4 

 pounds. When Ginger 

 Gold fruit were removed 

 from storage 2 and 4 

 weeks after harvest flesh 

 firmness was still very 

 good, at 17 and 14.9 

 pounds, respectively. 

 However, when these 

 fruit were allowed to 

 remain at room tempera- 

 ture for 1 week, flesh 

 firinness drop abruptly 

 to 1 1 pounds. Fruit 

 stored for more than 4 

 weeks were soft, tasted 

 somewhat grainy, and 

 were considered to have 

 marginal quality at best. 

 Sansa (Figure 2). 

 When harvested on Au- 

 gust 29, Sansa had an 

 average starch rating of 

 6.4 and flesh firmness of 

 16 pounds. After 2 

 weeks in storage, firm- 

 ness was similar. Fruit 

 that were kept at room temperature after harvest or 

 after 2 weeks of storage softened, but the taste of these 

 fruit was still good because of the pear-like texture of 

 the flesh. After a month in storage, flesh firmness 

 dropped below 12 pounds, and after 6 weeks in 

 storage, flesh firmness and fruit quality were marginal. 

 Sunrise (Figure 3). The average starch rating of 

 Sunrise fruit at harvest was 6. 1 , and firmness was near 

 14 pounds. Firmness during the first 2 weeks of 

 storage dropped little. Fruit that were allowed to 

 remain at room temperature, either at harvest or after 

 any length of storage, became extremely soft and 

 commercially unacceptable for sale, with flesh 

 firmness ranging between 6 and 8 pounds. 



Paulared (Figure 4). The average firmness of 

 Paulared at harvest was 15.5 pounds with a starch 

 rating of 3.6. After storage for 2 or 4 weeks, fruit were 

 still in good condition with firmness of 14.9 and 12.7 

 pounds, respectively. Fruit that were stored for 6 or 8 

 weeks had firmness between 10 and 11 pound and 



Fruit Notes. Volume 64 (Number 4), Fall, 1999 



