Abstract

Chile is the main exporter of cherries in the southern hemisphere and ‘Regina’ is the most widely planted due to its resistance to cracking, late harvest, and good flavor. 98% of the Chilean sweet cherries are successfully shipped to China in a 40-day journey. However, growers, exporters and receivers have reported an herbaceous flavor upon harvest and during storage. Additionally, our sensory results showed the appearance of this off-flavor during fruit development in red color stages and at the commercial harvest. The objective of this research was to determine if the herbaceous flavor persists during storage, and how it affects postharvest quality of ‘Regina’ sweet cherry. Cherries were harvested during the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 seasons, with 2 orchards used in the first year and a third added in the second year. Freshly harvested cherries were stored under modified atmosphere (MA) for 30 and 45 days at 0°C, plus 3 days at 15°C. Incidence and severity of the off-flavor were classified by a trained panel into ‘herbaceous’ and ‘non-affected’. Fruit quality parameters were also evaluated for each storage time. The herbaceous off-flavor was detected in all storage conditions with incidence around 10 and 15% at harvest for the first and second year, respectively. During storage the incidence of the off flavor varied between (4-15%, year 1) (4-10%, year 2). There were no differences in incidence associated with the origin of the fruit. Further research is needed to find strategies to control the off-flavor incidence during storage.