Cutting and temperature of preservation effect on the physiological activity and quality of fresh cut 'Packham's Triumph' and 'Shinco' pears

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of wedge and dice cut format and storage temperature on the physiological activity, firmness and organic acid and sugar content of fresh cut pears (Pyrus communis L.) 'Packham's Triumph' and 'Shinco'. The whole fruit was washed, peeled, cut, packed in modified atmosphere and subsequently stored at 5 and 8°C for 8 days. In 'Packham's Triumph' the storage temperature and the cutting format separately showed a significant effect on the physiological activity, which was lower in the wedges stored at 5°C. The cutting format and storage temperature, separately, also showed a significant effect on the firmness, the wedges showed a 12% higher firmness than dices (4.9 kg_-f) while wedges and dices of 'Packham's Triumph' pears stored at 5°C were firmer (5.3 kg_-f) than those stored at 8°C (5.1 kg_-f). The interaction of the cutting format and storage temperature showed a significant effect on organic acid, the content of oxalic and malic acids was higher in wedges stored at 5°C compared with the other cutting format at both storage temperatures at the end of the storage. In 'Shinco', the cutting format and the storage temperature showed a significant effect on the ethylene rate, which was lower in the wedges stored at 5°C than those stored at 8°C. At the end of storage, the content of malic acid was affected by the cut format which was 18% higher in dices in comparison with wedges while the fructose content in dices stored at 5°C was the highest in comparison with the other cutting formats stored either at 5 or 8°C. In summary, the 'Packham's Triumph' and 'Shinco' pears can be minimally processed under wedge and dice cut format, respectively, and they both must be stored at 5°C packed in modified atmosphere in order to preserve their quality.