Comprehensive analysis of the internal structure and firmness in American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) fruit

Cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait.) fruit quality traits encompass many properties. Among these, fruit firmness has become a quality standard due to the recent demand increase for sweetened and dried cranberries (SDC). Traditionally, this trait has been measured by the cranberry industry using compression tests; however, it is poorly understood how fruit firmness is influenced by other characteristics. In this study, we developed a high-throughput computer-vision method to measure the internal structure of cranberry fruit, which may in turn influence cranberry fruit firmness. We measured the internal structure of 16 cranberry cultivars measured over a 40-day period. Internal structure data paired with fruit firmness values at each evaluation period allowed us to explore the correlations between firmness and internal morphological characteristics.