Modified Atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> Levels for Maintenance of Fruit Weight and Nutritional Quality upon Long-Term Storage in Blueberry (<i>Vaccinium corymbosum</i> L.) ‘Liberty’
Blueberry fruits have gained consumer attention in recent years due to their good taste and high nutritional value. However, the short shelf-life of the fruit is one of the main downsides in intensive blueberry production. Therefore, optimized storage technology with a modified atmosphere is necessa...
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| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | EN |
| Publicado: |
MDPI AG
2021
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://doaj.org/article/02f0b637501e40ee9dce2677e63bd28b |
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| Sumario: | Blueberry fruits have gained consumer attention in recent years due to their good taste and high nutritional value. However, the short shelf-life of the fruit is one of the main downsides in intensive blueberry production. Therefore, optimized storage technology with a modified atmosphere is necessary to prolong blueberry fruit quality on the market. The aim of this study was to investigate long-term storage of fruit of the highbush blueberry (<i>Vaccinium corymbosum</i> L.) ‘Liberty’ under the air control (0.5% CO<sub>2</sub>, 19.5% O<sub>2</sub>, 80% N<sub>2</sub>) and controlled atmosphere conditions of: 5% CO<sub>2</sub>, 5% O<sub>2</sub>, 90% N<sub>2</sub>; 15% CO<sub>2</sub>, 5% O<sub>2</sub>, 80% N<sub>2</sub>; and 25% CO<sub>2</sub>, 5% O<sub>2</sub>, 70% N<sub>2</sub>. Fruit sampling was performed four times during storage (17, 30, 44, 62 days). Evaluation was carried out for fruit weight, total and individual sugar and organic acid contents, sugar-to-organic acid ratio, and individual phenolics contents. After 44 days of storage, weight loss was highest with 15% CO<sub>2</sub> and lowest with 5% CO<sub>2</sub>, with minor variations. The greatest breakdown of total sugars was seen for the air control, and the least for 25% CO<sub>2</sub>. Organic acids were significantly reduced under all of these storage conditions. Consequently, a high sugar-to-organic acid ratio was maintained in fruit stored with 25% CO<sub>2</sub>. The contents of all of the identified phenolics significantly decreased with 15% and 25% CO<sub>2</sub>. After 62 days of storage with 5% CO<sub>2</sub>, there were small decreases in flavan-3-ols and hydroxycinnamic acids, while flavonoid and anthocyanin contents were unchanged, or for some individual phenolics, content increased. These data show that 15% CO<sub>2</sub> or higher accelerates degradation of the phenolics. We can conclude that for maintenance of weight and nutritional quality of the blueberry fruit ‘Liberty’, the optimal controlled atmosphere under long-term storage is 5% CO<sub>2</sub>, 5% O<sub>2</sub>, and 90% N<sub>2</sub>. |
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