Tolerance of three apple cultivars to ultra-low levels of oxygen.

Tolerance of apples to low levels (0.5%) of O 2 was cultivar-dependent. Spartan' (SP), Delicious' (RD), and Golden Delicious' (GD) apples (Malus domestica Borkh.) held for 7 months in 1.0% O 2 (with 1.5% CO 2 ) at 0.5C, plus ⇒ 2 months in air at 0C and 7 days in air at 20C, were similar to those held in 1.5% O 2 . However, incidence of skin injury in fruit held in 0.5% O 2 was very high in SP (purple-brown discoloration), low in RD (purple-brown discoloration), but only negligible in GD (lesions). Skin discoloration in SP and RD developed rapidly in air at 20C (...)