Effect of Short-Term Storage Temperature on Mechanical Properties of ‘İstanbul’ Medlar

Abstract

The study investigated the effect of short-term storage time on the mechanical (rupture force, rupture energy, deformation) properties of the ‘Istanbul’ medlar cultivar grafted on Quince A (QA) and Quince Province BA29 (BA29) quince clone rootstock. The study gives the average values of the physical properties (weight, size, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, surface area, true density, bulk density, and porosity) of the ‘Istanbul’ medlar cultivar. The changes in breaking force, breaking energy, and deformation values of 'Istanbul' medlar varieties stored at room temperature (251 °C) and cold storage (41 °C) for 5 days were investigated. Separate measurements were made for skin and skinless fruits. The average rupture force value of fruits of the ‘Istanbul’ medlar cultivar stored at 25 °C was determined as 8.82 N, deformation 4.66 mm, and rupture energy 0.035 J. The average rupture force value of the fruits of the ‘Istanbul’ medlar cultivar stored at 4 °C was determined as 10.06 N, deformation 5.16 mm, and rupture energy 0.043 J. It was found that the storage conditions had a statistically significant effect on the rupture force, rupture energy, and deformation values of the QA and BA29 rootstocks of the ‘Istanbul’ medlar cultivar (P≤0.001).