Effect of storage temperature and maturity stage on the postharvest period of ‘Horvin’ plums (Prunus domestica L.)

Plums are classified as a climacteric fruit with a high respiration rate between the end of their development and the start of the ripening process, thus making it necessary to apply techniques to preserve the organoleptic characteristics required for the product to have good market acceptance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of harvest maturity (states 2, 3, 4, and 5) and storage temperature (2, 4, and 18 °C) on the organoleptic and physicochemical quality and postharvest storage duration of ‘Horvin’ plums. The experimental design was completely randomized with a 4 x 3 factorial arrangement. The first factor corresponded to the stage of maturity, and the second one to refrigeration temperatures, for a total of 12 treatments. Every three or four days, fruit peel color, accumulated mass loss, respiratory intensity, firmness, pH, total titratable acidity, and total soluble solids were measured every during storage. Measurements were taken until the fruits lost their organoleptic quality. For most of the measured variables, the fruits stored at 2 °C and harvested in maturity stage 5 maintained the best postharvest quality during storage. The fruits without refrigeration only reached 10 days, while the fruits stored at 4 °C and 2 °C maintained quality of consumption for 24 and 31 days, respectively. Maturity stage 5 presented the highest values of accumulated mass loss, pH, total soluble solids, color index, maturity index, and respiratory intensity.