Abstract:

‘Xiangshui’ pear is a traditional cultivar of Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim, and ‘Garber’ pear is a hybrid of
P. communis × P. pyiflia. Both cultivars become more delicious after ripening and freeze-thwa. However, no report is
available on the physiological and quality of ‘Xiangshui’ and ‘Garber’ pears during postharvest ripening. In this study,
‘Xiangshui’ and ‘Garber’ pears harvested from the same orchard and under the commercial maturity stage were stored for
ripening at room temperature ((20 ± 3) ℃), relative humidity (RH) of 85%–90%, and the changes in physiological and
quality parameters were determined. The results showed that respiration rates of ‘Xiangshui’ and ‘Garber’ pears belonged to
typical climacteric fruits, reached the maximum after 5 and 15 days of storage, respectively. Moreover, the content of total
soluble solids of ‘Garber’ pears was higher than that of ‘Xiangshui’ pears, and reached the maximum after 15 days and 10
days of storage, respectively. The content of titratable acid was decreased gradually for both cultivars during storage, with
‘Xiangshui’ pears having a significantly higher level than ‘Garber’ pears. Among color parameters investigated, a* value
increased most significantly during storage and was higher in ‘Xiangshui’ pears than in ‘Garber’ pears. The content of stone
cell in two cultivars kept stable, while the firmness decreased and weight loss increased during storage; levels of all three
parameters in ‘Xiangshui’ pears were higher than in ‘Garber’ pears. It is suggested that both ‘Xiangshui’ and ‘Garber’ pears
belong to climacteric fruits, and their color, taste and texture become better during after-ripening.

Key words: Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim, ‘Garber&rsquo, pears, quality, ripening