Sweet cherry fruit cracking: follow-up testing methods and cultivar-metabolic screening

Area of Science:

• Horticultural Science
• Plant Physiology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Rain-induced fruit cracking significantly impacts sweet cherry production.
• Existing cracking assays, like the Christensen method, do not fully replicate natural conditions.
• A novel 'Waterfall method' was developed for more realistic fruit cracking evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and validate the 'Waterfall method' for assessing sweet cherry fruit cracking.
• To compare the effectiveness of the 'Waterfall method' against the traditional Christensen method.
• To identify key metabolites in cherry skin tissue and their correlation with cracking susceptibility.

Main Methods:

• Developed and implemented the 'Waterfall method' for continuous fruit wetting under controlled conditions.
• Applied both the 'Waterfall' and 'Christensen' methods to seventeen sweet cherry cultivars.
• Utilized Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) and Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for metabolite analysis in fruit skin.

Main Results:

• The 'Waterfall method' proved to be a reliable tool for characterizing sweet cherry cracking behavior, individually or combined with the Christensen method.
• Significant variations in primary and secondary metabolites were observed among the seventeen tested cultivars.
• Key correlations were identified between specific metabolites and the cracking index, offering insights into the physiological basis of cracking.

Conclusions:

• The 'Waterfall method' offers a valuable alternative or complementary approach to the Christensen assay for characterizing cherry cracking.
• This study provides a more robust method for evaluating fruit cracking and links it to specific biochemical markers.