Preharvest Gibberellic Acid Treatment Increases Both Modulus of Elasticity and Resistance in Sweet Cherry Fruit (cv. ‘Bing’ and ‘Lapins’) at Harvest and Postharvest During Storage at 0 °C

Fruit firmness in sweet cherries (<i>Prunus avium</i> L.) is a critical quality parameter highly valued by consumers as it is associated with fruit freshness. In general, firm fruit also cope better with storage and handling. Gibberellic acid (GA) is commonly used by sweet cherry producers to increase firmness, soluble solids content and fruit size. This study evaluated the effects of GA on the rheological properties of sweet cherry fruit at harvest and postharvest storage. Specifically, GA’s influence on susceptibility to mechanical damage during handling was evaluated. The following GA treatments were applied to two sweet cherry cultivars ‘Bing’ and ‘Lapins’: T0, control, T30—GA at 15 ppm applied at pit-hardening and straw-colour stages; T45—GA at 25 ppm at pit-hardening and GA at 20 ppm at straw-colour; and T60—GA at 30 ppm applied at pit-hardening and straw-colour. The results indicate that GA delayed harvest by two to four days in both cultivars, with ‘Lapins’ also showing a significant increase in fruit size. Regardless of spray concentration, GA increased the modulus of elasticity and fruit resistance evaluated as stress at the maximum point at harvest. These effects persisted after 35 days of storage at 0 °C and an additional three days of shelf-life at 15 °C. While the strain or deformation capacity of the fruit at bioyield at harvest was constant across treatments, it was, however, lower in the GA-treated fruit than in the controls during storage at 0 °C under the high-humidity conditions of modified atmosphere packaging. The less mature fruit harvested at colour 3.0 (red/mahogany) were stiffer (reduced deformation) and more sensitive to induced mechanical injury than the fruit harvested later at colour 3.5 (mahogany). The GA treatments increased fruit resistance to damage without increasing tissue deformability. Other questions associated with stiffer tissues and lower deformability during storage at 0 °C under high humidity should be further studied, specifically cultivars that are naturally high in box-cracking sensitivity during storage.