Pecans are an important commodity in Georgia with 180,000 planted acres in 2022. The crop undergoes quality deterioration through lipid oxidation, off-flavor development, and kernel browning in storage. Many new varieties have been introduced to the State with little known about their storage viability. Knowing the varieties performance after harvest can help growers plan for an uncertain market by reducing storage costs. The standard industry technique for storage is low temperature (0°C) cold rooms, which can quickly become expensive over long periods of time due to rising electricity costs. The addition of controlled atmosphere (CA) may possibly aid in reducing oxidation rate and kernel browning during storage. The controlled atmosphere would reduce the amount of oxygen (O2) substituted by carbon dioxide (CO2). Previous studies reported shelf-life increases after oxygen levels were reduced to 2-3% using nitrogen (N2), however carbon dioxide is less commonly seen. Half pecan kernels were hand shelled and sorted before being stored under varied conditions for up to five months. Three treatments were applied to two GA pecan varieties (‘Desirable’ and ‘Sumner’). Conditions included elevated storage temperature at 10 °C, low temperature storage (5 °C) plus CA (10% CO2 4% O2), high temperature storage plus CA, and a control of cold storage at (0 °C). Quality assessments were conducted every month for change of weight, firmness, and color values. Firmness values were conducted using MecMesin texture analyzer to penetrate the half kernel until the breakpoint was achieved. A significant difference was seen in ‘Desirable’ when comparing the days of storage against the atmospheric conditions in the chroma values with the CA treatments exhibiting higher chroma. The Sumner variety saw significant differences in the chroma after two months of storage and varied differences in lightness values throughout storage. A significant difference was seen between the two varieties in firmness values with Sumner exhibiting higher firmness.
