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`Redhaven' peaches [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] were dropped onto several impact surfaces to determine impact conditions that initiate bruising. After impact, the peaches were tested for flesh firmness and sorted into firm, soft, and very soft groups for bruise analysis. The drop height that did not bruise decreased as fruit softened. The peach shoulder area bruised most easily. A drop of only 8 mm onto a hard surface initiated bruising on a soft peach, whereas a Poron 15250 cushion could protect the peach for a ≤85-mm drop. Impact damage threshold estimates were developed for the three flesh firmness conditions. The threshold estimates and impact history information collected by an instrumented sphere can be used to develop handling equipment design and operation guidelines that essentially avoid impact bruises on peaches.

Differences were observed both within and between strawberry cultivars in the relative importance of yield components. Most cultivars had high coefficients among yield, crown density at harvest, and fruit number/crown, but there was variation among cultivars in the coefficients between yield and fruit weight.