Horticultural Science and TechnologyISSN:1226-8763(Print) 2465-8588(Online)원예과학기술지

This study investigated postharvest fruit quality in ‘Cheongsan’, ‘Daebo’, and ‘Daeseong’ hardy kiwifruit cultivars during shelf life and cold storage. Fruits of the cultivars were harvested for commercial maturity based on soluble solids content. The fresh weight of ‘Daebo’ at harvest was two times that of ‘Daeseong’ and ‘Cheongsan’. The harvested hardy kiwifruit generally showed an increase in soluble solids content, a decrease in firmness, and deterioration of fruit quality as they ripened, regardless of the storage regime. The firmness of ‘Cheongsan’, ‘Daebo’, and ‘Daeseong’ was 19.9, 20.5, and 33.9 N at harvest, respectively, and decreased to 5.0 N in ‘Cheongsan’ and ‘Daebo’ after 5 days of shelf life. However, ‘Daeseong’ maintained higher firmness than ‘Cheongsan’ and ‘Daebo’ over the whole storage period. After 14 days in cold storage, the firmness of ‘Cheongsan’, ‘Daebo’, and ‘Daeseong’ was 10.9, 6.5, and 16.6 N, respectively, decreasing to 8.1, 3.7, and 4.0 N, respectively, after 35 days in cold storage. Stored ‘Cheongsan’ was considered unmarketable after 3 days of shelf life owing to fruit softening and fungal decay. Cold storage effectively delayed the incidence of decay; however, marketability of ‘Cheongsan’ fruit decreased after 21 days in storage because the fruit became shriveled and pitted. The ‘Daeseong’ fruit were still considered marketable following 70 days in cold storage.