Fruit Quality

Dr. Minas’ Invited Webinar to American Society for Horticultural Science

January 27, 2021

To watch the webinar use password: Peach in the link bellow.

https://vimeo.com/505358385

Webinar Details

Title: Revealing the true impact of orchard and preharvest factors on peach fruit quality development and postharvest performance

Ioannis S. Minas

Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, United States

Abstract

Improvement of peach fruit quality is impossible postharvest. Hence, optimum peach quality at harvest and during postharvest and subsequent, consumer satisfaction, is achievable through understanding the influence of preharvest and orchard factors. Growing environment, crop load management, fruit position in the canopy, cultivar and rootstock and are important preharvest factors to balance yield, quality, and maturation in peach. However, few studies have addressed how preharvest factors impact quality and metabolism on fruit of equal maturity. Accurate multivariate visible (Vis)/near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) prediction models to non-destructively assess peach internal quality (dry matter content, DMC; soluble solids concentration, SSC) and maturity (index of absorbance difference, I_AD) with a single scan were used to determine the true impact of various preharvest factors on peach internal quality. Large-scale field evaluation showed that heavier crop loads reduced peach quality and delayed maturity, upper canopy position advanced both, while extensive tree vigor as affected by cultivar or rootstock might be detrimental for peach internal quality. Interestingly fruit cultivated at high altitude exhibited superior quality traits at harvest were also more tolerant to the chilling injury syndrome following prolonged storage. Extensive transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic profiling was carried out on the mesocarp and skin of equally mature peach fruit samples from various preharvest and postharvest conditions. This combined physiological and systems analysis provides insights into the real impact of major preharvest factors and underscores that distinct growing and light environments and/or carbon sufficiency/competition conditions may facilitate specific regulations in peach fruit quality development. Overall, this talk will help you understand and manage orchard and postharvest factors affecting fruit size, maturity and internal quality of peaches.

Keywords: canopy position; chilling injury; cold storage; crop load; cultivar; light interception; metabolomics; near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS); proteomics; Prunus persica; postharvest handling; rootstock; systems biology; transcriptomics