Journal of Crop Production and Processing

Correct timing of fruit harvest may lead to increase in production efficiency, decrease in transportation and storage costs and prevent loss of quality. A 3-replicate factorial experiment based on a completely randomized design was conducted in order to investigate the effect of harvest time and storage on qualitative properties of red grape, the variety of Fakhri shahroud. Sampling was done in four stages (one sample before fruit ripening, two samples at the time of ripening and one sample after ripening) and the samples were stored at 0.5 - 1 ºC and 90 – 94% relative humidity. The results showed that with increase in storage time, the pH and taste index of the grapes decrease. A significant negative correlation between pH and acidity of fruit samples at the 99% probability level was observed. With increase in harvest time, the Bx and dextrose of the grapes increased. As harvest time was approached, the taste index of the fruits began to increase. Evaluation of interaction effect of harvest time and storage showed that samples which were harvested at 35^th day, before transporting to the morgue, had the greatest taste value.