FACTORS INFLUENCING MECHANICAL-PROPERTIES AND BRUISE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF APPLES AND PEARS

Fruit turgidity and firmness have been shown to influence impact bruis e susceptibility in apples and pears. Analysis of impact response show ed that stresses in the tissues were higher in turgid fruit, so they w ere more susceptible to bruising. Turgidity changes seemed to be the c ause of the lower susceptibility of fruits to damage after storage. Th e physical parameter ''deformation at skin puncture'' was shown to ind icate fruit turgidity changes and was found to be related to bruise su sceptibility. The influence of fruit turgidity was greater than that o f firmness. Fruits picked early were less susceptible to bruising than those picked later.