LATE HARVEST AND DELAYED COOLING INDUCE INTERNAL BROWNING OF YA LI AND SEURI CHINESE PEARS

Brown discoloration of the core, carpels, and flesh areas of 'Ya Li' a nd 'Seuri' Chinese pears [Pyrus bretschneideri (Rehd.)] depended on ha rvest date. Fruit harvested no later than 180 days after full bloom (3 000 degree days) did not develop the disorder. Browning of the core an d flesh tissues increased when cooling was delayed, but was not influe nced by subsequent storage temperatures of 0, 10, or 20C. In both cult ivars, the onset of internal browning was evident after storage in fru it that had been harvested when skin color had changed from green to l ight green-yellow. Thus, skin color can be used to determine harvest d ate to avoid internal browning incidence during storage of 'Ya Li' and 'Seuri' Chinese pears.