DOI: https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-121671/v1
Background
Strawberry fruit has a thin skin layer, so it is very susceptible to tissue mass damage during post-harvest handling. This article compares the strength of the strawberry mass tissue between the vertical and horizontal axes using a compression test at different speeds and compressibility levels.
Results
The results showed that the mass tissue damage of strawberries was greater when compressed from the horizontal axis than from the vertical axis. The loading from the vertical axis obtained a combined mechanical response between the fruit structure and mass tissue cells, while from the horizontal axis the mechanical response was obtained only from the fruit structure. During compression, the fruit undergoes 3 phases of deformation, namely elastic, plastic, and permanent mass tissue damage. In the elastic deformation phase, the fruit mass tissue has not been damaged. Along with the duration of the compression, mass tissue damage has started to occur.
Conclusion
The outer mass tissue of a strawberry is more susceptible to damage than the deep mass tissue. Therefore, the post-harvest handling process from agricultural land to the hands of consumers requires gentle handling to maintain fruit quality. The percentage of mass tissue damage of strawberries can be minimized if arranged vertically in the package. The percentage of fruit mass tissue damage obtained from this study can be used to predict changes in fruit volume non-destructively.