Correlation between Sweet Cherry Quality Attributes and Fruit Cracking Index

Abstract

Sweet cherry skin cracking, particularly due to rainfall, presents a significant challenge for commercial production. This issue impacts fruit quality and marketability, making it crucial to identify effective, accessible solutions tailored to local climatic conditions. Understanding the relationship between fruit quality parameters and cracking susceptibility is essential for supporting farmers and improving production practices. However, in an attempt to obtain higher quality fruit, it is possible that sometimes, especially if there is significant rainfall during the fruit ripening period, producers neglect the possibility that the fruit is much more susceptible to cracking. A two-year experience (2022-2023) investigated how certain quality parameters—such as fruit weight, firmness, pH, total soluble solids (TSS), fruit maturity index, and color —affect the cracking of sweet cherries. The research focused on three cherry cultivars (‘Ferrovia’, ‘Kordia’, and ‘Skeena’) grafted onto the ‘IP-C8’ rootstock. By examining these parameters, the study sought to identify factors that contribute to cracking and offer insights for improving fruit quality. The ‘Kordia’ cv. had the highest induced cracking index (1.67), followed by the ‘Skeena’ cv. at 1.27, and ‘Ferrovia’ cv. with a lower value of 0.27. Higher values indicate that ‘Kordia’ and ‘Skeena’ are more susceptible to cracking under stress conditions compared to ‘Ferrovia’. The induced cracking index highlights how cultivars respond to stress conditions, such as heavy rainfall. The ‘Kordia’’s higher value suggests it is more vulnerable to cracking under stress compared to ‘Ferrovia’ cv., which might be more resilient.