Effects of Harvest Date on Ripening Capacity and Postharvest Life of ‘d’ Anjou’ Pears1

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Abstract
’D‘Anjou’ pears (Pyrus communis L.) were harvested at weekly intervals for a 3-week period beginning at the start of commercial harvest in the Hood River Valley, Oregon. Late-harvested fruit at flesh firmness of 5.9 to 5.4 kg ripened with fair to good quality following 30 days storage at -1.1°C. Fruit harvested at optimum flesh firmness of 6.4 to 6.1 kg required 60 days of postharvest chilling to ripen with quality. The development of ripening capacity corresponded to the increase in internal ethylene to 1.5—2.0 ppm during cold storage. Dessert quality of late-harvested fruit declined after 90 days of storage while quality of optimum-harvested fruit continued to improve until 150 days in storage. Flesh firmness and ethanol-soluble matters indicated that fruit harvested over the 3-week period were of different maturities. Concentrations of titratable acids and soluble solids varied among different harvest groups.

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