Deterioration of sweet cherry fruit during storage period

Abstract

Sweet cherry fruit cv. 'Emperor Francis' and 'Grosse Schwarze Knorpelkirsche' could be stored in cold storage conditions with normal air without big loss. Fruits stored under CA conditions were less affected by fungi during storage period, but later when were kept for 3 days at 20°C were more deteriorated than those stored at the same temperature in normal air. Botrytis cinerea and Monilinia spp. were the main fungi causing rot of sweet cherry fruit. Low temperature decreased the development of Monilinia spp. The most important factor for good fruit storage was the size of baskets. Sweet cherries stored in small baskets containing 0.5 kg of fruits were of good quality after one month of storage; in 2-kg boxes they were more damaged.