Differences in Ethylene and Fruit Quality Attributes during Storage in New Apple Cultivars

Physiological characteristics of five new apple cultivars from the Korean apple breeding program were evaluated as a function of harvest time and storage after harvest. Internal ethylene concentration (IEC), flesh firmness, soluble solids concentration (SSC), and titratable acidity (TA) were measured in ‘Summer Dream’, ‘Summer King’, ‘Green Ball’, ‘Picnic’, and ‘Hwangok’ apples at harvest, during shelf life at 20℃, and one day after cold storage at 0.5℃ in air. IEC increased during shelf life in ‘Summer Dream’, ‘Summer King’, and ‘Green Ball’ but not in ‘Picnic’ or ‘Hwangok’, regardless of harvest time. Flesh firmness decreased towards harvest time and decreased gradually with time in cold storage only in the former three cultivars. In turn, IEC increased during cold storage in the first three cultivars but not for the last two cultivars, irrespective of harvest time. Changes in SSC and TA did not consistently relate to harvest time or storage period but TA tended to decrease as IEC increased. Furthermore, IEC was negatively correlated with flesh firmness except in the ‘Green Ball’ cultivar but the significance level was much greater in ‘Summer Dream’ and ‘Summer King’ (p ＜ 0.0001) than in ‘Picnic’ (p ＜ 0.01) or ‘Hwangok’ (p ＜ 0.05) cultivars. Flesh firmness was positively correlated with TA in the first three cultivars but not in the last two cultivars. Overall, the results indicate that cultivars for which IEC increased after harvest had reduced flesh firmness and TA after storage.

[1]  W. Miller,et al.  Relationships between starch pattern indices and starch concentrations in four apple cultivars , 2015 .

[2]  S. Kwon,et al.  Genetic identification of apple cultivars bred in Korea using simple sequence repeat markers , 2014, Horticulture, Environment, and Biotechnology.

[3]  J. Markowski,et al.  1-Methylcyclopropene postharvest treatment and their effect on apple quality during long-term storage time , 2014, European Food Research and Technology.

[4]  C. Watkins,et al.  Repeated treatment of apple fruit with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) prior to controlled atmosphere storage , 2013 .

[5]  H. Nybom,et al.  Tailoring Organic Apples by Cultivar Selection, Production System, and Post-harvest Treatment to Improve Quality and Storage Life , 2013 .

[6]  W. E. van de Weg,et al.  QTL dynamics for fruit firmness and softening around an ethylene-dependent polygalacturonase gene in apple (Malus×domestica Borkh.) , 2010, Journal of experimental botany.

[7]  P. Toivonen,et al.  Increased Maturity Enhances 1-MCP Efficacy in Maintaining Quality of Summer Apples 'Sunrise' and 'Silken' Stored at 0°C , 2010 .

[8]  P. Casquero,et al.  Harvest parameters to improve the storability of high quality ‘Reinette du Canada’ apple , 2010 .

[9]  J. DeEll,et al.  Correlation and path-coefficient analyses of ripening attributes and storage disorders in ‘Ambrosia’ and ‘Empire’ apples , 2009 .

[10]  S. Moriya,et al.  Turgor Closely Relates to Postharvest Fruit Softening and Can Be a Useful Index to Select a Parent for Producing Cultivars with Good Storage Potential in Apple , 2008 .

[11]  Kazuyuki Abe,et al.  Storability in Cold Temperatures Can Be Evaluated Based on Changes in Fruit Quality in Apple Genotypes Under Shelf Life Conditions , 2008 .

[12]  Jordi Garcia-Mas,et al.  Candidate genes and QTLs for fruit ripening and softening in melon , 2008, Theoretical and Applied Genetics.

[13]  S. Gardiner,et al.  Influence of Md-ACS1 allelotype and harvest season within an apple germplasm collection on fruit softening during cold air storage , 2007 .

[14]  H. Ohkawa,et al.  Influence of time from harvest to 1-MCP treatment on apple fruit quality and expression of genes for ethylene biosynthesis enzymes and ethylene receptors , 2007 .

[15]  A. Marchese,et al.  Storage quality of low ethylene producing apples , 2006 .

[16]  W. Weg,et al.  Role of the genes Md-ACO1 and Md-ACS1 in ethylene production and shelf life of apple (Malus domestica Borkh) , 2005, Euphytica.

[17]  S. Moriya,et al.  Influence of Mealiness on the Firmness of Apples after Harvest , 2005 .

[18]  S. Lurie,et al.  Sensory analysis and instrumental measurements of ‘Anna’ apples treated with 1-methylcyclopropene , 2005 .

[19]  Lu Lu,et al.  Studies on elevated temperature, short-term storage of ‘Sunrise’ Summer apples using 1-MCP to maintain quality , 2005 .

[20]  C. Watkins,et al.  Maturity and Storage Quality of `Honeycrisp' Apples , 2004 .

[21]  Adel A. Kader,et al.  Effect of Down-Regulation of Ethylene Biosynthesis on Fruit Flavor Complex in Apple Fruit , 2004, Transgenic Research.

[22]  S. Lurie,et al.  Responses of 'Anna', a rapidly ripening summer apple, to 1-methylcyclopropene , 2003 .

[23]  J. Pech,et al.  Molecular and Genetic Characterization of a Non-Climacteric Phenotype in Melon Reveals Two Loci Conferring Altered Ethylene Response in Fruit1 , 2002, Plant Physiology.

[24]  Christopher B. Watkins,et al.  Responses of early, mid and late season apple cultivars to postharvest application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) under air and controlled atmosphere storage conditions , 2000 .

[25]  W. Lane,et al.  Harvest Indices, Storability, and Poststorage Refrigeration Requirement of `Sunrise' Apple , 1998 .

[26]  Christopher B. Watkins,et al.  Fruit maturity, carbohydrate and mineral content relationships with watercore in ‘Fuji’ apples , 1997 .

[27]  J. Jobling,et al.  A comparison of ethylene production, maturity and controlled atmosphere storage life of Gala, Fuji and Lady Williams apples (Malus domestica, Borkh.) , 1995 .

[28]  C. Watkins,et al.  DEVELOPMENT OF MATURITY INDICES FOR THE âFUJIâ APPLE CULTIVAR IN RELATION TO WATERCORE INCIDENCE , 1993 .

[29]  Susan Lurie,et al.  Prestorage heat treatment as a means of improving poststorage quality of apples. , 1990 .

[30]  C. Watkins,et al.  Assessment of ethylene production by apple cultivars in relation to commercial harvest dates , 1989 .

[31]  N. Hoffman,et al.  Ethylene biosynthesis and its regulation in higher plants , 1984 .

[32]  W. Mcglasson,et al.  Treatment of Fruit with Propylene gives Information about the Biogenesis of Ethylene , 1972, Nature.

[33]  M. Knee.  Ripening of apples during storage: II.—Respiratory metabolism and ethylene synthesis in Golden Delicious apples during the climacteric, and under conditions simulating commercial storage practice , 1971 .