Relationship of Harvest Date, Storage Conditions, and Fruit Characteristics to Bruise Susceptibility of Apple

Susceptibility of apples (Malus domestica Borkh. ‘Gala’ and ‘Granny Smith’) to impact damage increased from early to late harvest time and decreased during storage at 1°C. Impact damage was quantified as bruise depth, diameter, volume, or weight. Bruise weight calculated as a percentage of fruit weight was the least variable measurement of bruising that was also proportional to height to impact of the fruit. Although a range of 22 New Zealand-grown apple cultivars differed in susceptibility to bruising, the variation was not correlated with fruit density, fruit firmness, or polyphenol content and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) activity in epidermal and cortical fruit tissues.