SOUTHERN HIGHBUSH BLUEBERRY CLONES DIFFER IN POSTHARVEST FRUIT-QUALITY

Fruit from genotypes of southern highbush blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) , and 'Sierra' were compared for postharvest quality. Commercially imp ortant rabbiteye (cv. Climax) and northern highbush (cv. Bluecrop) wer e included as standards. 'Gulfcoast', 'Cooper' and 'Cape Fear' fruit r etained 10-20%: of pedicels after harvest ('stemming') while very few pedicels were retained on other cultivars. Fruit from the selection G6 16 were greatest in weight (2.8g) and 'Cooper' the smallest (1.7g). A 109 fruit had the smallest stem scar and MS108 the largest. 'Sierra' a nd 'Climax' fruit had the least decay among all clones. G616 fruit wer e the least firm of all clones after storage. Soluble solid concentrat ion/titratable acidity ratios were between 10 and 19 for all clones. A nthocyanin content was highest in 'Cape Fear' and lowest in MS108. Of the new southern highbush clones, 'O'Neal: G616 and A109 cultivars wer e equal to or better than 'Bluecrop' or 'Climax' in postharvest qualit y and shelf life.