Control of superficial scald in Granny Smith apples by ultra-low and stress levels of oxygen as an alternative to diphenylamine

Summary‘Granny Smith’ apples were harvested at weekly intervals, commencing approximately 155 d after full bloom (DFFB), over two successive seasons. Subsamples of the fruit were stored for periods of five and six months, without the application of diphenylamine, under regular atmosphere (RA) (1990/91 season only), and ultra-low oxygen (ULO) controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions. Further samples were subjected to initial low oxygen stress (ILOS) conditions before ULO CA storage. During the 1989/90 season, scald development after five months’ storage was low for fruit which had been picked in the pre- and post-maturity phases, but high on fruit picked at optimum maturity (170 DFFB). Although storage regime had little effect on scald development after five months’ storage, the ILOS + ULO CA treatment resulted in lower levels of scald on the post-mature fruit after six months of storage than was the case under ULO CA storage alone. There was more scald in the 1990/91 season than in the previous season. Under...