Harvest time influences incidence of storage diseases and fruit quality in organically grown 'Aroma' apples

Abstract

Summary In organic growing optimized harvest time might be an alternative method for avoiding storage diseases. In three years, organically grown apples of 'Aroma' were picked five times at one-week intervals, from two weeks prior to, to two weeks after recommended normal harvest time. The apples were cold stored until February 1 and then kept for two weeks at 20°C. At harvest, fruit quality differed with harvest time, but after storage, time of harvest had no effect on fruit quality. In mean of three years, fruit decay after storage was significantly higher when picked after,compared to prior to recommended harvest time. The most important causes of postharvest fruit decay were Colletotrichum acutatum and Neofabraea spp.