Total Quality Management of Honeycrisp Apple

Total Quality Management of Honeycrisp Apple

Total Quality Management of
Honeycrisp Apple:
The Nova Scotia Programme
Robert K. Prange1 and John M. DeLong
1Adjunct
Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Dalhousie University,
Halifax, NS B3H 4R2 Canada
Copyright, 2016
Honeycrisp Management
Recall the Total Quality Management (TQM) Triad:
Thinning/Crop-load
Harvest Maturity
Storage Conditions
Key Management Factors having the greatest
effect on commercial fruit quality
2
Honeycrisp Cropload
Ideal: 3-6 fruit per cm-2 TCSA
Minimize biennial bearing, maximize quality
3
‘Honeycrisp’ disorders
Controlled by storage at 3.5 ºC or warmer
+ Delayed Cooling (6-7 days @ 20 ºC)
Soft scald
Internal breakdown (a.k.a. ‘Low
temperature breakdown’ or ‘Soggy
breakdown’)
4
‘Honeycrisp’ disorders
Not Controlled by storage at 3.5 °C or warmer
+ Delayed Cooling (6-7 days @ 20 °C)
Bitter Pit
‘Senescent’ breakdown (appears as a
diffuse cortical browning)
Both bitter pit and ‘senescent’ breakdown
Known to be associated with calcium deficiency (Meheriuk et al.,
1994)
5
400
Fruit without bitter pit
Fruit with bitter pit
350
Mean fruit weight (g)
300
250
200
150
55
45
20
3
8
20
1
2
100
50
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Harvest week
Effect of harvest week and fruit size on the incidence of bitter pit
Fruit without bitter pit = vertical bar in black
Fruit with bitter pit = vertical bar in white
Number in vertical bar = number of fruit with bitter pit
6
350
325
Fruit without senescent breakdown
Fruit with senescent breakdown
300
Mean fruit weight (g)
275
250
225
200
175
150
2
125
4
24
23
53
31
36
100
75
50
25
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Harvest week
Effect of harvest week and fruit size on the incidence of senescence breakdown
Fruit without senescence breakdown = vertical bar in black
Fruit with senescence breakdown = vertical bar in white
Number in vertical bar = number of fruit with senescent breakdown
7
50
45
Bitter pit
Senescent breakdown
Soft scald
Low temperature breakdown
Incidence of disorder (%)
40
35
Optimum
harvest
30
25
(Lowest disorders)
20
15
10
5
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Harvest week
Effect of harvest week on occurrence of disorders
6 orchards in 2008 and 2009, and held for 3 months in RA storage at 3.5ºC
There was no delayed-cooling treatment before storage
Vertical lines = +/- S.E.
8
9
10
Optimum Harvest/Maturity using the DA
Meter
DA Meter:
• Tracks chlorophyll activity / loss
• Non-destructive
• Rapidly indicates fruit ‘maturity’ stage
11
12
Honeycrisp Programme
Thin to a crop-load of 3-4 fruit / cm2 TCSA
To avoid bitter pit and browning disorders:
1) Calcium orchard sprays
2) Harvest at proper maturity:
DA meter = ca. 0.59-0.36 (or Starch Index ca. 5.0 - 6.0
and ethylene < ca. 2 - 4 ppm )
3) Keep fruit size under 250 g
Handle the fruit with TLC to avoid bruising
Clip fruit stems at harvest – skin is thin
Delay cool: 6-7 days @ 20 ºC (use constant temp!)
13
Honeycrisp Programme
No fungicidal drenches – no benefit and increases decay
Store at 3.5 ºC or warmer
Store in Ref. Air (RA) for shorter terms, e.g. < 3 months
Store in CA for longer terms, e.g. > 3 months
CA is beneficial – reduces greasiness & rot
O2: low O2 acceptable, e.g. 0.5 to 0.8%, using
HarvestWatch
CO2: first 4 weeks – keep < 1%
after 4 weeks – keep <1-1.5%
14
AmbrosiaTM: ‘Food of the Gods’
(New Club Variety)
Species: Malus domestica
Parentage: chance seedling; probably Golden
Delicious and Jonagold
or Starking Delicious
Originates from: British Columbia, Canada
Introduced: 1987
Developed by: Discovered by Wilfred Mennell
of Keremeos (Similkameen
Valley), BC
Color: bi-colour, mostly red; pink/red blush
& faint broad stripes over a creamy
white/yellow background.
Flavour: sweet, juicy, aromatic, low acid
Texture: fine-grained, crisp, thin glossy skin
15
Ambrosia Optimum Harvest/Maturity Study
Goal:
Develop an Optimum Harvest Window model using the
DA meterI
Similar to the Honeycrisp model
16
Ambrosia
Methods:
8-9 consecutive harvests* (immature to over-mature)
4 grower sites
Fruit quality evaluation after each harvest:
firmness, colour, mass, soluble solids, acidity,
ethylene, starch, DA meter reading (IAD)
Storage: 4 months
2.5 oC, ambient conditions (Refrig Air)
Fruit evaluated (as ‘at harvest’ after removal)
DA-meter optimum harvest window constructed
*1st & 9th Harvest: Sept 10-12 & Nov 7, resp.
17
Ambrosia Optimum Harvest Model
Harvest
Colour
Weight
Firmness
Week
(% red)
(g)
(lbs)
Starch
Ethylene
Soluble
Solids
(ppm)
(%)
Acidity*
SenBD
Core Flush
Greasy
Rot
DA
(%)
(%)
(%)
After
Storage
(%)
(IAD)
At Harvest
1
21.4167
133.825
19.7775
1
0
10.41
439.571
0
0
7.0833
0.4167
1.0258
2
40.0833
144.022
19.35083
1.0333
0
10.715
407.08
0
0
13.75
0
0.8718
3
54.3333
156.362
19.1275
1.3
0.0173
11.185
391.645
0
0
14.5833
0
0.6928
4
59.4167
168.128
18.59584
1.6333
0.0423
11.4233
364.063
0
0.4167
16.25
0
0.5889
5
63.3333
172.527
18.465
3.1333
0.1214
11.8517
341.812
0.4167
2.0833
22.0833
2.5
0.4646
6
71.1818
184.844
17.91819
4.1091
0.1369
11.9927
350.018
2.7273
1.8182
35
3.1818
0.3853
7
73.8182
189.06
17.44546
4.7273
0.1352
12.32
356.064
8.1818
4.0909
57.7273
5.9091
0.2925
8
71.9
187.104
16.7295
5.7
0.153
12.592
326.064
20
21.5
64
9.5
0.1983
9
74.33
209.95
15.49685
*
0.075
12.63
328
43.33
45
40
8.33
0.155
*mg malic acid (100 ml juice)-1
18
Ambrosia Optimum Harvest Model
(2011, 2012 & 2013)
90
1.2
SenBD
CoreFl
Greasy
Rot
1.0
0.9
70
IAD units=1.197-0.182(Harv wk)
2
+0.00738(Harv wk) ;
2
r =0.998
0.8
IAD Units
80
0.7
60
50
0.6
40
0.47
0.5
0.4
Disorders (%)
1.1
30
0.28
0.3
20
0.2
10
0.1
0.0
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Harvest Weeks
19