WUR Postharvest consultancy # 10: Tips to avoid bitter pit development in cold storage

What is bitter pit? Bitter pit is a physiological disorder that can be easily be identified by soft round browning depressions on the peel as well as in the flesh of the fruit. A calcium deficiency during cell division is often associated with the development of this physiological disorder. Indeed, calcium is essential for cell wall structure and is a non-mobile element in the plant meaning that in times of lack of calcium, the growing part of the part will suffer from the deficiency. This phenomenon can be enhanced during a period of drought and warm weather as the leaves are using more water (bringing calcium with it) through transpiration than the fruits. At the time of harvest, bitter pit is not always visible. During storage, the brown spots may appear. Luckily, bitter pit frequency and development can be reduced with an improve cold storage strategy. Low Calcium level is responsible for more disorders, but in this article will focus on the prevention of bitter pit on apples in postharvest. This also affects the post-harvest management and storability of the apples. The postharvest consultants of Wageningen Food & Biobased Research share their knowledge and experiences in this article.