Comparing Two Iranian Apple Varieties Related to Bruise Parameters and Coefficient of Static Friction

ABSTRACT:Iran produced 1662430 tons of apples in the 2010 crop year and is the eighth largest apple producer in the world. Since the losses during agricultural operations are very high, the amount of apple that can be exported is very low (421 kilo tonnes). Many local apple varieties exist in Iran which are very delicious, nutrient and have a good-looking appearance so if producers can reduce the quality losses during harvesting and handling processes, the place of Iran will improve in the ranking of top apple exporters. Bruise damage is the major cause of losing quality in the apples. Therefore the study of bruise damage can be useful in reducing this damage by designingbetter machines in the chain of producing up to post harvest operations. For this purpose, two Iranian local apple varieties (Asheghi and Gare Yapraq) were selected for determining some bruise parameters and some physical and mechanical properties. This study was conducted for the first time in Iran. In this study, apples were dropped from three different heights onto a hard surface and then bruise parameters such as rebound height, bruise volume, bruise energy and bruise susceptibility coefficient were determined. The results showed that by decreasing the dropped height,the bruise volume decreased too. Also the maturation of apples influenced the bruise parameters but had no effect on the coefficient of static friction. The maturation influenced the BSC so that the BSC increased with the maturation (related to harvest time). Moreover Gare Yapraq apples had a higher coefficient of static friction and the highest coefficient for all of the fruits was found over the polycarbonate surface.