Non-destructive evaluation of post-harvest peach fruit softening

Peach fruit firmness was non-destructively measured by a drop-test device that produced serial measurements of the same fruits during post-harvest storage. Evaluations of post-harvest fruit softening were based on C2 values which were calculated as (peak impact force)/(time to impact peak force)(2). The slopes of C2 values over storage time were used to compare softening between cultivars and within a cultivar harvested at 3 stages of ripening. The use of this device demonstrated the effects of harvest stage on post-harvest softening, with firmer fruit from the same cultivar generally softening at a faster rate than fruit harvested at a more advanced state of pre-harvest softening. Cultivar comparisons suggested the potential utility of non-destructive measurements in selecting genotypes with longer post-harvest storage life.