The Influence of Storage Temperature and Warming During Storage on Peach and Nectarine Fruit Quality1

Abstract

Peaches and nectarines ( Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) ripened after storage for 4 weeks at 0°C retained a significantly better internal appearance and had less internal breakdown than those ripened after storage at 5°. Shifting fruit to 5° after storage for 1 or 2 weeks at 0° resulted in fruit with very severe internal breakdown. Breakdown in these fruit was as severe as in fruit stored continually at 5°. However, fruit shifted to 0° after storage for 1 or 2 weeks at 5° developed significantly less breakdown than those shifted from 0° to 5°. Fruit that were warmed (2 days at about 18.3°) during low temperature storage developed significantly less internal breakdown than comparable fruit that were not warmed. Peaches and nectarines that were warmed during storage also tended to have lower respiration rates than those that were not warmed. Acidity was significantly higher after storage in fruit stored at 0° than it was in fruit stored at 5° and acidity tended to remain higher in warmed than in nonwarmed fruit.