2017 ASHS Annual Conference

‘AU Golden Dragon’ and ‘AU Golden Sunshine’ are two yellow-fleshed kiwifruit with potential for commercial and home garden production in the southeastern U.S. The objectives of this research were to determine the appropriate harvest times and harvest indicators based on sensory evaluation and postharvest longevity of these two cultivars grown in central Alabama. Sensory evaluation was conducted in 2016 using fruit harvested at 7 d intervals for 5 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively for ‘AU Golden Dragon’ and ‘AU Golden Sunshine’. In general, ‘AU Golden Dragon’ was more popular with consumers than ‘AU Golden Sunshine’. The sensory evaluation indicated that there could be a long harvest period for ‘AU Golden Dragon’, as consumers liked fruit similarly from multiple harvest dates. Consumers preferred ‘AU Golden Sunshine’ fruit harvested on 29 Aug. To determine the effect of harvest maturity on fruit quality and postharvest longevity of these two cultivars, fruit were harvested at 7 d intervals from mid-Aug. to mid-Sept. in 2015 and 2016. Fruit quality attributes were measured initially and subsequently every 14 d until fruit was unmarketable, or chilling injury became severe. As harvest date increased, there was a quadratic increase in chilling injury incidence of ‘AU Golden Dragon’ and a linear decrease in chilling injury incidence of ‘AU Golden Sunshine’ in 2016. Chilling injury incidences increased as storage time increased. ‘AU Golden Dragon’ harvested with a soluble solids content of approximately 8% and ‘AU Golden Sunshine’ harvested with a dry matter content >18% had better postharvest longevity.