Controlled atmosphere storage impacts fruit quality and flavor chemistry of five cultivars of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum)
2022
Forney, Charles F. | Jordan, Michael A. | Pennell, Kathleen Munro | Fillmore, Sherry
Changes in highbush blueberry fruit quality and flavor chemistry following air or controlled atmosphere storage was determined for five blueberry cultivars. ‘Duke’, Aurora’, ‘Brigitta’, ‘Jersey’ and ‘Liberty’ fruit were stored for six weeks at 1 °C in chambers containing air or 0, 10.0, 12.5, 15.0, 17.5, or 20.0 kPa CO₂ with 10.0 kPa O₂. Elevated concentrations of CO₂ reduced decay but did not affect fruit splitting, which differed among cultivars. Fruit firmness increased 36% in air-stored fruit, but decreased as CO₂ concentration increased being 110% and 83% of initial values in fruit stored in 10 and 20 kPA CO₂, respectively. Flesh discoloration increased following storage and in response to CO₂ concentration. Sugar and acid content tended to increase in fruit stored in elevated CO₂ concentrations but sugar/acid ratio declined. Volatile compounds were monitored using headspace solid phase microextraction-2 dimension gas chromatography-time of flight-mass spectroscopy. Concentrations of aldehydes did not change following storage regardless of atmosphere. Monoterpenoids and ketones declined after storage, but were not effected by storage atmosphere. Alcohols and esters increased after storage and in response to CO₂ concentration. Ethanol, acetaldehyde and ethyl acetate increased in response to elevated concentrations of CO₂ and were 1,100-, 90- and 150-fold greater in fruit stored in 20 kPa CO₂ than in fruit prior to storage. Other ethyl and acetate esters also increased in response to elevated CO₂ atmospheres. Differences in CO₂ tolerance were observed among cultivars with ‘Liberty’ showing the least expression of fermentation-induced volatiles and ‘Aurora’ the least flesh discoloration. While storage of blueberries in elevated concentrations of CO₂ is effective to reduce decay, its effects on fruit flavor must be considered in optimizing storage atmospheres.
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