Articles
Estimation of the vulnerability of peach fruit against shock at different storage temperatures
Article number
1364_55
Pages
437 – 444
Language
English
Abstract
The firmness of fruits seems to be one of the most critical characteristics which affect damage sensitivity (vulnerability) against shock and vibration.
Japanese peach (Amygdalus persica L. Batsch) fruit is very soft after-ripening and highly susceptible to physical damage during handling and transportation.
Therefore, fruit is usually harvested before the fully ripe stage to allow transportation to the long distant markets.
The ripening process makes the firmness change of the fruit during postharvest processes.
However, the relationship between the firmness characteristics of the fruit and the vulnerability to physical stress is not well known for peach fruit.
To develop an estimation method of fruit firmness characteristics during storage under different temperature conditions, we have developed a mathematical model based on the cumulative respiration of the fruit.
Using the developed model, results calculated for five physical parameters showed a high correlation coefficient (R2: 0.819-0.921), and the spring constant at small deformation showed the highest value.
The fruit with different firmness were tested for different shock levels, and the degree of fruit damage was evaluated.
The results showed that the effect of shock on damage to peach fruit could be expressed by stress-number (S-N) curves, in which S denotes shock acceleration and N denotes the number of cycles to lose the commercial value.
Based on these findings, we developed a regression model to predict the S-N curve parameters (α, β) according to the fruit firmness (R2: 0.74 and 0.90, respectively). The determination of S-N curve parameters of fresh produce that change their damage characteristics at the postharvest period could be used to select an appropriate cushioning material or transport destination, which can reduce loss induced by shock damage during the distribution phase.
Japanese peach (Amygdalus persica L. Batsch) fruit is very soft after-ripening and highly susceptible to physical damage during handling and transportation.
Therefore, fruit is usually harvested before the fully ripe stage to allow transportation to the long distant markets.
The ripening process makes the firmness change of the fruit during postharvest processes.
However, the relationship between the firmness characteristics of the fruit and the vulnerability to physical stress is not well known for peach fruit.
To develop an estimation method of fruit firmness characteristics during storage under different temperature conditions, we have developed a mathematical model based on the cumulative respiration of the fruit.
Using the developed model, results calculated for five physical parameters showed a high correlation coefficient (R2: 0.819-0.921), and the spring constant at small deformation showed the highest value.
The fruit with different firmness were tested for different shock levels, and the degree of fruit damage was evaluated.
The results showed that the effect of shock on damage to peach fruit could be expressed by stress-number (S-N) curves, in which S denotes shock acceleration and N denotes the number of cycles to lose the commercial value.
Based on these findings, we developed a regression model to predict the S-N curve parameters (α, β) according to the fruit firmness (R2: 0.74 and 0.90, respectively). The determination of S-N curve parameters of fresh produce that change their damage characteristics at the postharvest period could be used to select an appropriate cushioning material or transport destination, which can reduce loss induced by shock damage during the distribution phase.
Authors
N. Nakamura, Y. Sasaki, D. Ciptaningtyas, T. Kaneta, E. Yasunaga, T. Tezuka, T. Watanabe, M. Nagata, T. Shiina
Keywords
Amygdalus persica L. Batsch, modeling, physical damage, ripening, firmness
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