Comparison of Fruit Quality between Individual and Cluster Harvesting in Four Blueberry Cultivars

In four highbush blueberry cultivars ‘Spartan’, ‘Bluecrop’, ‘Darrow’ and ‘Dixi’, quality of fruit harvested by individual and cluster was evaluated at harvesting and 14 days after storage (14 DAS). Individual harvesting picked the berries one by one, when the surface color became blue. Whereas cluster harvesting cut the peduncle of cluster when the surface color of 70~80% of fruits in the cluster turned blue. At harvesting, fruit weight was smaller and variations in fruit weight, fruit firmness, soluble solid content and titratable acidity were higher in cluster harvesting compared with those of individual harvesting. At 14 DAS, reduction rates of each trait in cluster harvesting, which decreased from harvesting to 14 DAS and the appearance of the fruit surface did not demonstrate shrink age. On cluster harvesting, ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Darrow’ were characterized by limited variation in fruit weight at harvesting and limited rates of reduction in fruit weight, fruit firmness and titratable acidity during storage, while the strength of fruit setting was large. As a result, the fruits in cluster harvesting were not of uniform quality at harvesting but fruit quality maintained a longer shelf-life. ‘Bluecrop’ and ‘Darrow’ are available as cluster harvesting.