Response of 1-methylcyclopropene treated "granny smith" apple fruit to air and controlled atmosphere storage conditions

Abstract

In the study, the efficacy of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on the quality of apples cv. "Granny Smith" was examined. Fruits were stored for 120 and 180 days at 0 +/- 0.5C and 90 +/- 5% relative humidity (RH) under normal (NA) and controlled atmosphere (CA), and samples taken at 120 and 180 days of storage were kept at 20 +/- 2C and 60 +/- 5% RH for 7 days. Weight loss was higher in fruits stored under NA. The lowest respiration rates were in CA while the highest rates were found in NA-stored fruits without pretreated. 1-MCP + CA reduced the internal ethylene concentration from 10.63 mu L/L to 0.60 mu L. The incidence and severity of superficial scald was 68.10 and 77.00% in fruits stored in NA. 1-MCP consistently suppressed the expression of superficial scald. 1-MCP maintained the quality fruit kept in CA and NA environments to a higher degree than nontreated apples over a 180-day storage period. The results indicated that cv. "Granny Smith" could be stored successfully under 1-MCP + CA conditions and that 1-MCP + NA may be a viable alternative to CA for optimal eating quality.