4 SASS MIRE ES | sos STHARVEST WEIGHT LOSS AND SHRIVEL = IN FIVE FRUITS AND FIVE VEGETABLES ~— Filo copy x- S Ne Repri Marketing Research Report No. 1059 Agricultural Research Service UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Historic, archived document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. PREFACE U.S. Department of Agriculture marketing research is part of a con- tinuing program to reduce marketing losses and to extend the marketing season of agricultural products. This study was undertaken to develop information to aid in alerting produce handlers to a major cause of deterioration (moisture loss with shriveling) in fresh fruits and vegetables during handling, transportation, storage, and packaging. CONTENTS Page SUMMAaTy 22-2. ckooce es Soe. Se eo ee ee 3 Tnntroductiony: (222k cd at EY tl A ce incre ene a 3 Methods: and materials.2 5" = S20 5 tee ee 4 Weight loss’ tésts = 222s oe ee ed ee 5 Bruits: ee en ee le = 5 Apples: 2222522520222 Sa Ee ee ee 5 Nectarines’. 2252223 2 ieee Ss Ba ae em ee 11 Peaches 22.2022 25220 ee ae ee oe 11 POAte oof os wat Fes ea a ners Se i ac 12 Persimmons e320 ee eee 13 Vegetables: 22 9 je oe ee) se ee ee er 14 Beans: Snap oho 2 ose te ee eee ee ee eee 14 Cabbage, early. 2-2. ee ee a ee eee 15 Peppers sweet 2 S<0...24.04— Se eee Pa ae eee ee 16 Squash, Summer 22220. 2228 eo ee ee 17 Tomatoes, firm ‘ripewia4 2 53 eos a ee ee ee LY, Diseussion je. be es a ee 20 TLaterature. cited) 202 ee ee Se ee ee ee 23 Washington, D.C. Issued February 1977 POSTHARVEST WEIGHT LOSS AND SHRIVEL IN FIVE FRUITS AND FIVE VEGETABLES By Howarp W. HRUSCHKA, research plant physiologist, Horticultural Crops Marketing Laboratory, Agricultural Marketing Research Institute, Northeastern Region, Agricultural Research Service SUMMARY Weight loss and shrivel severity were determined on over 2,000 freshly harvested in- dividual specimens of five fruits and five vege- tables grown in 1972, 1978, and 1974 at or near Beltsville, Md. Test produce items were in- dividually weighed and then exposed in a single layer with each specimen well separated from adjacent specimens in a room averaging 75° F (24° C) and 25 percent relative humidity. Apples and pears also were held at 32° (0°) and 95 percent relative humidity. Weight losses required to shrivel each specimen varied with, and especially within, each kind of produce. These losses were higher than losses published by others. Trace and slight shrivel symptoms, while noted by the researcher, had little effect on acceptable commercial appearance. Moderate, severe, and extremely severe shrivel progres- sively damaged commercial appearance. At 75° F, apples, nectarines, peaches, pears, and per- simmons showed moderate shrivel, with percent weight losses averaging 10, 21, 16, 9, and 11, respectively. Snap beans, early cabbage heads, sweet peppers, summer squash, and firm ripe tomatoes showed moderate shrivel with percent weight losses averaging 41, 11, 12, 24, and 6, respectively. Rate of weight losses also varied markedly. Average percent weight losses per day at 75° and 25 percent relative humidity for the five fruits were: Apples (0.5), nectarines (1.4), peaches (2.8), pears (0.7), and per- simmons (1.9). Average percent weight losses per day for the five vegetables were: Beans (10.2), cabbage (1.3), peppers (2.2), squash (2.3), and tomatoes (0.5). Before any symptoms were noted, percent weight losses in individual snap beans ranged from 12 to 64, averaging 32, and in nectarines ranged from 10 to 21, averaging 16. After 2 days’ holding at 75° F, percent weight losses in snap beans ranged from 14 to 53, averaging 29. After 7 days, losses in peaches ranged from 11 to 27 percent, averaging 20. Weight losses were lower in other fruits and vegetables tested but variability was wide. Weight loss causes not only a direct quantitative monetary loss be- cause produce is often sold by the pound, but also causes a qualitative loss in appearance and thus salability. Weight loss can cause nutritional loss involving flavor and vitamins. INTRODUCTION Weight loss, due to water loss from fresh produce, has many reported effects—physical, physiological, pathological, nutritional, eco- nomic, and esthetic. Thus weight loss is re- ported to change specific gravity slightly in Irish potatoes (17),! hasten ripening in fruits (1, 13), reduce decay in lettuce (3), increase decay in carrots (18), reduce vitamin C and Italic numbers in parentheses refer to Literature Cited, p. 23. carotene in kale (4, 5), reduce salable weight and economic value in produce in general (12, 14), and mar appearance in most fruits and vegetables by wilt and shrivel (12, 14). During 1972 in an unpublished store survey, 20 consumer units of snap beans, bought at 10 supermarkets near the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, contained 0 to 33 percent objectionably shriveled beans. The produce managers did not know how much welght had been lost from these or other produce items. Shrivel symptoms have been linked with weight losses ranging from 8 to 6 percent (2, 8, 11, 14, 15). At weight losses over 10 percent, severe wilt was noted in most kinds of bulk fruits and vegetables (16). However, a few commodities may lose more than 10 percent weight and remain marketable, with trimming needed in some cases (14). In some tests, weight losses of 15 percent (10) or 10 to 23 percent (2, 6, 7) occurred before wilt was noticeable or shelf life was ended. The observation of 15 percent weight loss without shrivel symptoms suggested that some estimates of shrivel-producing weight loss may have been too low. The observation also suggested the need for more data on weight loss from fruits and vegetables to alert produce handlers. This report deals with the amounts of salable weight loss from each of five fruits and five vegetables when each of six degrees of shrivel becomes visible. Weight loss data were collected from produce exposed in a single layer. Thus rates of weight loss reported may be compar- able to weight loss rate from surface layers of commercial containers. Good packaging, han- dling, and marketing practices can materially lower these weight loss rates (2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 10, T1121 lds 16,08). METHODS AND MATERIALS At Beltsville, Md., from September 1972 to December 1974, weight loss and shrivel data were collected on over 2,000 individual speci- mens of freshly harvested nonwaxed fruits and vegetables. The produce items were grown at Beltsville Agricultural Research Center—West or nearby farms. Fruits tested were 640 apples (320 at each of two temperatures), 100 nec- tarines, 150 peaches, 320 pears (160 at each of two temperatures), and 70 persimmons. Vege- tables tested were 400 snap beans, 20 heads and 30 jacket leaves of early cabbage, 200 sweet peppers, 100 summer squash, and 140 firm ripe tomatoes. Each commodity was harvested when it was suitable for immediate preparation and consumption or commercial storage. Initial weights and observations were taken on the day of harvest, generally within 1 hour of harvest, except for nectarines which were initially weighed and observed the day after harvest. All weights were determined to one hundredth of a gram. Each weight was of an individual fruit, pod, leaf, or head. Following initial weighing and observation, most groups within each of the 10 fruits and vegetables were placed in a single layer with each individual specimen well separated from 4 adjacent specimens on trays in a room held at about 75° F (24° C) and 25 percent relative humidity. Room conditions during holding ranged from 70° to 80° and 20 to 30 percent relative humidity. In addition, groups of apples and pears were also held at 32° (0°) and 95 percent relative humidity ranging from 31° to 33° and 90 to 99+ percent, respectively. Some apples were stored 4 months in polyethylene- lined boxes before holding on trays at 75° or 32°. Subsequent weighings and examinations of each individual specimen for shrivel symp- toms were done in each holding room (75° or 32°) to avoid weight changes caused by mois- ture condensation which often occurs on pro- duce when moved to a warmer temperature. The subsequent weighings of each specimen were done at frequent intervals so a fairly good estimate could be made of the maximum weight loss occurring before any symptom was evident (zero) and of the minimum percent weight losses associated with the onset of each of five degrees of shrivel (trace, slight, moderate, severe, and extremely severe). When applicable, data were processed by analysis of variance and Duncan’s multiple- range test at the 5-percent level of statistical significance (9). Data for each kind of fruit and vegetable were analyzed separately. Dun- can multiple-range test letters thus apply only to differences within each kind and not between kinds of fruit or vegetable. No shrivel (zero) denotes field-fresh condi- tion with no visible wrinkling. For example, on an apple with a shrivel rating of “zero,” no visible wrinkling is produced by light thumb and finger pressure. Trace shrivel shows no visible wrinkling without pressure. Wrinkling, however, can be produced by light pressure, but this wrinkling disappears when pressure is dis- continued. There is some loss of turgidity with- out visible wrinkling. Slight shrivel is a barely visible wrinkling on produce surface and is visible without pressure. None of the first three symptoms is serious enough to affect commercial appearance. Moderate shrivel is plainly visible wrinkling which detracts from commercial appearance. Severe shrivel is deeper more obviously visible wrinkling which seriously de- tracts from commercial appearance. Extremely severe shrivel is very bad wrinkling, accom- panied by stiff dry texture in some commodi- ties, such as green beans or cabbage. Such shrivel very seriously detracts from commercial appearance. WEIGHT LOSS TESTS In all produce tested, whether held at 75° F (24° C) and 25 percent relative humidity or at 32° (0°) and 95 percent relative humidity, weight loss rate and weight loss required for onset of shrivel symptoms varied widely, within each replicate of fruit or vegetable, each cultivar, each holding room, each time period, and each symptom class. Weight loss and shrivel data for fruits are reported in table 1 and for vegetables in table 2. Fruits Apples A total of 640 freshly harvested apples in groups of 20 from each of four cultivars (Golden Delicious, Jonathan, McIntosh, and Red Delicious) were tested. Little difference, in weight loss after various holding periods, was noted between fruit held naked immediately after harvest and fruit first stored for 4 months at 32° F in polyethylene-lined boxes before holding them naked on open trays. Therefore, these values were combined in analyzing the data. After 4 months’ storage in polyethylene-lined boxes at 32° F, percent weight loss in apples averaged about 2. After 1 week naked at 75° and 25 percent relative humidity, percent weight loss in Golden Delicious apples ranged from 1 to 9, averaging 6, and in McIntosh apples from 1 to 18, averaging 5 (table 1). Naked apples from the four cultivars lost weight at an average rate of 0.5 percent per day. In an overview of the four cultivars, per- cent weight loss required to produce slight shrivel symptoms ranged from 5 to 14, averag- ing 9 at 75°, and 2 to 138, averaging 7 at 32°. Typical shrivel symptoms in ev. Golden Delicious are shown in figure 1. At 75° and 32°, weight loss required to produce moderate shrivel symptoms, that is, shrivel serious enough to affect commercial appearance, averaged 10 and 8 percent, respectively. Throughout the symptom range, the average weight loss required to produce symptoms was higher in apples held at 75° F than in apples held at 32°, ranging from 1 percentage point higher at trace (7 vs. 6) to 3 percentage points higher at extremely severe (12 vs. 9). Stated another way, apples at 75° were more resistant to shriveling than apples at 32°. However, apples shriveled faster at 75° than 32°. Thus during 1, 2, and 3 weeks at 75°, apples lost 5, 8, and 10 percent weight, respectively, while during 4, 8, and 12 weeks at 32° apples lost 4, 5, and 7 percent weight, respectively. Although it took more weight loss to shrivel them, the apples at 75° had lost weight at a faster rate and thus shriveled sooner than apples at 32°. The first signs of shrivel were noted in apples at 75° after 4 days to 5 weeks, averaging 3.6 weeks, and at 32° after 1 to 20 weeks, averaging 9.1 weeks. Considered by cultivar, Red Delicious apples required most weight loss to shrivel, McIntosh and Golden Delicious apples intermediate loss to shrivel, and Jonathan apples least to shrivel. 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