Effect of Preharvest Fruit Temperature on Ripening, Sugars, and Watercore Occurrence in Apples

Additional index words. Malus domestica, 'Himekami', 'Fuji', sorbitol, maturity Abstract. The influence of controlling temperature during apple ( Malus domestica Borkh.) maturation on sugars, fruit maturity, and watercore occurrence was investigated in watercore-susceptible 'Himekami' and 'Fuji' apples. The incidence of watercore at 13/5 and 23/15C was greater than at 33/25C or ambient temperatures in 'Himekami' apples in 1991 and was greater at 18/10C than at other temperatures in 'Fuji' apples in 1990. In 1992, the extent of watercore increased as fruit temperature decreased from 28 to 14C and 23 to 9C in 'Himekami' and 'Fuji' apples, respectively. Watercore occurrence affected by fruit temperature was not related to fruit maturity, as judged by ethylene evolution. The effect of fruit temperature on sorbitol was relatively small compared with that on other sugars, and no relationship was found between watercore development and sugars. These results suggest that fruit temperature affects watercore expression independently of fruit maturity or sorbitol metabolism in the fruit in watercore-susceptible apple cultivars. peratures. These temperature effects on sugar composition were verified experimentally by adjusting fruit temperature in the field (Yamada et al., 1988). These results suggest that watercore devel- opment in watercore-susceptible apples is altered by temperature, independent of sorbitol metabolism or fruit maturity. In the present study, the effect of controlled preharvest fruit temperature on ripening, sugar content, and watercore develop- ment was investigated in watercore-susceptible 'Himekami' and 'Fuji' apples, which have different maturation dates. The purpose of these experiments was to determine the relationship between watercore occurrence and temperature, fruit maturity, and sorbitol metabolism.

[1]  Hisashi Yamada,et al.  Effect of Controlled Fruit Temperature on Maturation of Apple Fruits , 1988 .

[2]  Hisashi Yamada,et al.  The Effect of Fruit Temperatures on the Maturation of Satsuma Mandarin (Citus unshiu Marc.) Fruits , 1982 .

[3]  M. N. Westwood,et al.  Temperate-Zone Pomology: Physiology and Culture , 1993 .

[4]  K. Yonemori,et al.  Growth and Ripening of Persimmon Fruit at Controlled Temperatures during Growth Stage III , 1991 .

[5]  Hisashi Yamada,et al.  Relationship between Temperature and Fruit Quality of Apple Cultivars Grown at Different Locations , 1988 .

[6]  I. Kataoka,et al.  The Effect of Environmental Temperatures on Fruit Ripening on the Tree , 1979 .

[7]  David A. Kollas.  Physiology of watercore development in apple , 1968 .

[8]  J. C. Fidler,et al.  The biology of apple and pear storage. , 1973 .

[9]  Hisashi Yamada,et al.  Changes in Sugar Composition during Maturation Stage of Apple Fruits Grown at Different Locations , 1988 .

[10]  M. Faust,et al.  Ethylene Biosynthesis and Polyamine Accumulation in Apples with Watercore , 1992 .

[11]  E. Sfakiotakis,et al.  Induction of Autocatalytic Ethylene Production in Apple Fruits by Propylene in Relation to Maturity and Oxygen1 , 1973, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science.

[12]  C. Harley,et al.  The influence of temperature on the development of watercore. , 1931 .

[13]  S. Blankenship.  Night-temperature effects on rate of apple fruit maturation and fruit quality , 1987 .

[14]  J. Faragher.  Temperature Regulation of Anthocyanin Accumulation in Apple Skin , 1983 .