Storage Quality Evaluation of Southern Highbush Blueberry Cultivars Jubilee, Magnolia and Pearl River

Abstract

Fruit of recently released southern highbush blueberry cultivars Jubilee, Magnolia and Pearl River ( Vaccinium spp, mostly corymbosum)and rabbiteye cultivars Climax and Premier ( Vaccinium ashei) were compared for storage quality. Physical characteristics and chemical composition before and after 28 days storage at 1-3° C were the bases of comparison. Poststorage values of most quality parameters varied with cultivar, and there were changes during storage. ‘Climax’ and ‘Jubilee’ had the highest concentrations of glucose and fructose and were the most firm and least decayed after storage. Overall, fruit from the southern highbush cultivars were smaller, had higher weight loss, more shrivel and were less firm than the rabbiteye cultivars. Rabbiteye fruit were much higher in anthocyanins than southern highbush fruit; anthocyanin content of all cultivars increased during storage. The organic acid profile of southern highbush cultivars was similar to those reported for highbush berries. Using a rating system based on means separations of quality factors within cultivars, the estimated overall storage quality of the cultivars in decreasing order was ‘Climax,’ ‘Jubilee,’ ‘Premier,’ ‘Magnolia’ and ‘Pearl River.’