‘Dalinsweet‘- the new darling for organic production?

‘Dalinsweet’ is a scab resistant cultivar, bred in France, which is reported to store well in RA (regular air) until March and in CA (controlled atmosphere) until May or June. In 2016, a storage trial was conducted at the Competence Centre for Fruit Growing at Lake Constance (KOB) in Southwest Germany to confirm the breeders’ information using fruit from another region. ‘Dalinsweet’ was stored for 4 or 6 months under RA or CA conditions at 1 or 3°C. Different CO 2 levels were applied in CA storage (<0.7kPa CO 2 or 2.5kPa CO 2 ) each with 1kPa O 2 . Each storage removal was followed by a 7d shelf-life period at 20°C. Quality analyses of fruit firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), background colour as well as starch content just before storage were conducted with 3x8 fruit per variant at storage removal and after shelf-life. Starting with a ripening index of 0.08 at the end of October the fruit had a firmness of 85N, 14°Brix and a starch index of 7 (scale 1 to 10) with a TA of 10.3mEq/100ml. The results after storage show neither sensitivity to CO 2 nor to chilling. But the incidence of rots (mostly Gloeosporium ) in fruit stored at 3°C was quite high after shelf-life (up to 32% in RA). CA conditions were able to supress rot development even at low CO 2 levels. Firmness was maintained well independent of CO 2 level. Almost no yellowing of background colour occurred in fruit in CA storage, but at 3°C yellowing was higher after shelf-life than at 1°C. All in all, ‘Dalinsweet’ stores well but can have a limited shelf-life due to rots and senescence. The breeders information can be confirmed in this 1-year trial. Elevated storage temperatures (3°C) should be avoided in CA for storage periods over 4 months.