LAUSR

Abstract Pre-harvest conditions such as cultivar, cultivation site and planting time could affect the storability, quality and shelf-life of fruit and vegetables. The influence of onion cultivar, cultivation site and planting time on the storability and quality of whole fresh and roasted calcots (Allium cepa L.) was investigated. Moreover, the suitability for fresh-cut processing of four different calcots was studied. Samples from ‘Montferri’ onion cultivar presented the best storability. Overall, postharvest storage time had no remarkable effect on the quality of whole calcots but produced an increase on the antioxidant properties of all samples. In relation to the aptitude to minimal processing, ‘Montferri’ onion cultivar cultivated at Viladecans in August showed the best results in terms of quality throughout their postharvest storage time. Therefore, cultivar and postharvest storage time could have more effect than cultivation site and planting time on the quality of whole and fresh-cut calcots.