Coating fruit to reduce moisture and retain freshness, though standard practice in citrus and apples, has proved difficult in small fruit like sweet cherries. Among the various materials studied by scientists thus far, a chitosan coating is showing promise and will be evaluated further this season. Oregon State University researcher Dr. Jinhe Bai, and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Dr. Anne Plotto, have evaluated the performance of more than 20 different edible coatings on cherry fruit and stems during the last two years. “For fruit coating research, we found that cherries have thick, natural wax on the fruit surface,” Bai stated […]