TSS at harvest was 19.43±0.31°Brix and slightly
increased over storage with final concentration of≈21°Brix
without significant effect of alginate treatments (data not
shown), which could be related to the loss of weight during
storage. On the contrary, the alginate coatings were
effective in delaying the loss of TA, which occurred either
during cold storage (data not shown) or after 20 °C in
control fruits, with values decreasing from 0.91±0.01 g 100
g-1 at harvest to 0.57±0.01 g 100 g-1 in control fruits after
16 days at 2 °C+2 days SL at 20 °C, while they were
significantly higher at 0.77±0.01, 0.81±0.02 and 0.85±
0.02 g 100 g-1 in cherries coated with 1%, 3% and 5%
alginate, respectively (Fig. 2b). Similarly, fruit softening
was retarded in alginate-treated cherries while control fruits
exhibited a significantly higher reduction in firmness
(Fig. 3). For this parameter, the alginate concentrations of
3% and 5% were more effective than 1% in reducing
softening, especially at the last sampling date, either during
cold storage or after transferring the fruits at 20 °C.