Studies on the post-harvest physiology and handling of strawberries

S EVERAL STUDIES ( 4, 5, 8) have shown strawberries, one of the most perishable fruit crops, have a considerably higher respiration rate than such fruits as citrus, apples and peaches.As the marketing of strawberries shifts from roadside and local markets to large retail outlets in urban areas, the time between harvesting and final sale increases.More data on the post-harvest physiology and b ehavior of strawberries is required in order to devise better methods for maintaining commodity quality and reducing losses in marketing channels.With the exception of studies in California ( 6, 7) relatively little work has been done on strawb erry fruit physiology in the last twenty years, and it was felt that data were needed on varieties now produced in the eastern United States, including W est Virginia.With the development of newer methods, fruit respiration can be measured more accurately and under more physiological conditions than was possible in most of the earlier studies.