Changes in postharvest physiology and fruit quality of Actinidia chinensis Planch. ‘Jinmei’ from three different production regions during cool storage and shelf life

Changes in postharvest physiology, fruit quality, and storage performance of the new yellow-fleshed kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis Planch.) cultivar ‘Jinmei’ from three different orchards in Wuhan, Huayuan, and Dafang were investigated under cold storage (1-2℃, relative humidity 90%- 95%) and room-temperature shelf-life conditions (22 ±1)℃. Results showed that the firmness of fruits from the three orchards declined rapidly to 1.0 kg/cm² after 12 weeks of cold storage. Soluble solids content (SSC) and total sugar content in fruit showed a similar pattern, firstly increasing and then maintaining a high level. However, SSC and sugar contents in Dafang fruit increased to a stable level earlier (after only three weeks of cold storage) than that in fruit from the two other orchards, but were lower than that of fruit from Wuhan and Huayuan during subsequent storage. Total acidity in the fruit from the three orchards showed a small fluctuation range, and decreased successively in Wuhan, Huayuan, and Dafang fruit. The vitamin C content in fruit from the three orchards fluctuated within a small range (70-90 mg/100 g fresh weight) and was generally the lowest in Huayuan fruit. During cold storage, fruit from the three orchards had a high level of weight loss but a low rate of decay. However, the weight loss of Dafang fruit was lower than that of Wuhan and Huayuan fruit but was accompanied by an earlier occurrence and higher rate of fruit decay. The shelf life of Huayuan and Dafang fruit removed from cold storage after 4, 12, and 20 weeks was 4, 3, and 2 weeks, respectively. Furthermore, Dafang fruit ripened earlier but had a lower SSC during its shelf life. Thus, the ‘Jinmei’ fruit from the three orchards showed good storage performance and a long shelf life, with Huayuan fruit exhibiting superior comprehensive quality.