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Cornelian cherry (Cornus mas L.) is known as a medicinal plant. It can be used as a fresh or dried fruit. In this study, color characteristics and some physical properties of three Iranian genotypes of cornelian cherry were studied. Color characteristics, true density and static coefficient of friction of cherries were measured using the L*a*b*model, toluene displacement method and tilting table, respectively. Dimensions, equivalent diameter and sphericity were also measured. Lightness, redness and color density of three genotypes were in the range of 20.68 to 26.10, 16.88 to 24.72 and 17.90 to 26.01, respectively. The maximum amount of bulk and true density were obtained for the genotype C2 (861 and 1118 kg/m3) and the maximum amount of repose angle was obtained for the genotype C12 (75°). Genotype C13 had the maximum value of porosity, sphericity and static coefficient of friction on the steel surface (23.54, 86.17 and 1.22 %, respectively). PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The marketing of agricultural products such as cornelian cherry and their by‐product depends on the quality of primary products and the type of process operation at postharvest stage. The efficient process operation of cornelian cherry such as handling, cleaning and sizing depends on appropriate performance of the equipments used. The designing of suitable equipments needs knowledge about physical properties of cornelian cherry. In this study, the physical properties of cornelian cherry were measured. The results of present study could be used to (1) identify optimal configuration of cornelian cherry process equipments; (2) design and construct the cornelian cherry process equipment; and (3) sort and select cornelian cherry genotypes based on their quality.

Strawberry is one of the most perishable fruits, and precooling of strawberry increases the percentage of marketable fruits. To assess the sensitivity of strawberry cooling uniformity with respect to package vents and tray design, the previously proposed modified parallel airflow system (MPAS) was modified and a sensitivity analysis was conducted in this paper. Some improvements in homogeneous strawberry precooling process were made to give improved parallel airflow system (IPAS). To evaluate its performance, the cooling process of strawberries was simulated using the mathematical models of heat, momentum, and mass transfer, which were validated experimentally. Results showed that the IPAS was able to distribute cold air uniformly throughout the packages. A difference of 0.1°C was observed between the average fruit temperatures of the packages after 3 hr of cooling. Therefore, the cooling process of strawberry could be done at lower airflow rate, cooling time, and heterogeneity. In addition, the precooling process of strawberry was studied considering the moisture loss during the cooling process and comparing the data with the models without this term. The results indicated that the moisture loss of strawberries during the cooling process is not negligible and the cooling rate increased and the cooling time decreased (31%) by considering this term in the modeling. However, the moisture loss did not affect the heterogeneity of cooling process.

The transportation of fruits over longer distances could lead to damage fruits such as apricots. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of transportation factors including the vibration frequencies (17 and 20 Hz), the vibration time (15 and 30 minutes), the fruit cultivar (Shahroudi and Urdoobad), and the package type (2 types) on the apricot damage. An electro-dynamic lab vibration simulator was used to simulate the road transportation and a fruit damage index (FDI) was used as a criterion to evaluate the damage based on the classifying bruises into five different categories. The statistical analysis indicated that, except for the package type, the other factors (apricot cultivar, frequency, and vibration duration) had a significant effect on the FDI (P < 0.01). The vibration damages considerably changed by the apricot cultivar and increased by the frequency and duration. The results indicated that the Urdoobad cultivar was more resistant to the damage and could be used for export purposes to transport in distances more than 1,000 km. The maximum damages occurred at a frequency and duration of 17 Hz and 30 min in the Shahroudi cultivar, respectively.