Postharvest quality of apricot cultivars in relation to storage period: preliminary results

In Apricot culture to develop late blooming cultivars, extend harvest season, improve fruit quality and processing suitability are among the major goals. Short harvesting season, soft fruit flesh, poor quality and flavour are the major problem. In this work, five cultivars have been studied: Goldbar® Toyiba e Golstrike® Toyesi, Sweet Cot® Toyuda, Mango Cot® Rutsey, Flavor Cot® Bayoto. After collection, the samples were weighed and cold stored under two different storage conditions (T1: 0°/1°C, 90-95% relative humidity and T2: 0,5°/0,8°C, 90-95% relative humidity) and every sample was wrapped in plastic packaging. To evaluate the quality of the fruits at 25 and 30 days of storage during post-harvest period, the following parameters were measured: flesh firmness (kg/cm2), total soluble solids content (°Brix), titratable acidity (meq/l). The analysis of the data indicated that the cultivars considered are unsuitable for long storage. All the cultivars maintained high levels of sugars and acids, but have evidenced values of firmness inadequate for the commercialization.