October / November 2025
Preventing pitting in cherries
Pitting is a postharvest defect characterised by indentations on the shoulders or sides of cherries. Not to be confused with the lenticel-related pitting disorders of apples, pitting in cherries is a response to bruising caused by pre- and postharvest mechanical damage to the flesh. The skin is unbroken but sunken due to the collapse of the underlying tissues.
