Effects of GA3, CACl2 and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) Applications on Fruit Quality of Sweet Cherry at Cold Storage

ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of pre-harvest gibberellic acid (GA3) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) and post-harvest modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) applications on fruit quality of sweet cherry during the cold storage. At the end of the cold storage, GA3+CaCl2 applications in MAP-applied fruit and CaCl2 in non-MAP-applied fruit significantly delayed weight loss compared to the control. During the cold storage, the decay of CaCl2-applied fruit has not been observed. At the end of cold storage, the a* and firmness values of the fruit treated with GA3 and CaCl2 were significantly higher than the control. The CaCl2-applied fruit had less soluble solids than the control, but they had significantly higher acidity compared to other applications. In MAP, GA3- and CaCl2-applied fruit had higher vitamin C and antioxidant activity values than the control fruit, but their total phenolics were higher. However, the total flavonoids of CaCl2-applied fruit were higher than the control. On fruit in non-MAP, with GA3 application, less anthocyanin was obtained compared to the control. As a result, GA3-treated fruit had a relatively lower bioactive compound content compared to the fruit of the CaCl2 and control applications both during the harvest and the cold storage. However, it has been revealed that GA3 and CaCl2 applications can be used as significant pre-harvest tools to delay the loss of the fruit firmness.