Abstract:[Objective]This study aims to develop suitable packaging strategies for sweet cherry varieties with different respiratory characteristics.[Method]The sweet cherry cultivars ‘Lapins’ and ‘Regina’ were put in closed systems with different O2 volume fractions at 0, 5, and 10 ℃. The changes in O2 consumption rate, CO2 consumption rate, and respiratory quotient were monitored. Additionally, the changes of gas components, quality, and physiological disorders were assessed for the two cultivars treated with polyethylene (PE) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) after 4 weeks of storage at 0, 5, and 10 ℃.[Result]‘Lapins’ had lower O2 consumption rate and CO2 consumption rate than ‘Regina’ at the beginning of storage under the same temperature. The O2 volume fractions of ‘Lapins’ were lower than those of ‘Regina’ during anaerobic respiration. For both cultivars, the O2 consumption in the MAP accelerated as the storage temperature increased. After storage at 10 ℃ for 4 weeks, the O2 volume fraction of ‘Regina’ in the MAP fell into the O2 volume fraction range in the case of anaerobic respiration. The analyses of fruit quality, physiological disorders, and sensory quality showed that the fruit firmness, titratable acid mass fractions, texture scores, and flavor scores of ‘Lapins’ and ‘Regina’ decreased with the increase in storage temperature. At the same storage temperature, the fruit quality and sensory flavor scores of ‘Lapins’ and ‘Regina’ treated with MAP were higher than those treated with PE. In addition, Analysis of variance revealed that cultivar × storage temperature × packaging method significantly affected O2 volume fractions, CO2 volume fractions, and flavor scores.[Conclusion]‘Regina’ displayed higher respiratory level and O2 volume fraction threshold for anaerobic respiration than ‘Lapins’. At 0~5 ℃, MAP inhibited the O2 consumption, maintained high storage and sensory quality, and reduced the incidences of physiological disorders in both cultivars.
