It would have been ideal to choose an initial
decay area. However, since the instrument microprocessor was not able to handle two regression fits, it was decided to work with the Mooney torque at 0.6 s after relaxation start, [M.sub.0.6], which is the shortest relaxation torque reliably displayed by the instrument.
The decay index was evaluated visually by means of a five-grade scale according to
decay area, where 0 indicates no
decay area of the fruit surface; 1 indicates
decay area < 25% of the fruit surface; 2 indicates
decay area between 25% and 50% of the fruit surface; 3 indicates
decay area between 50% and 75% of the fruit surface; and 4 indicates
decay area > 75% of the fruit surface.
Cherries are normally dark in color, so
decay areas are often inconspicuous.