Kinetic modeling of firmness breakdown in ‘Braeburn’ apples stored under different controlled atmosphere conditions

Abstract A model to describe the loss of firmness in apples stored under different temperatures and controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions was developed. Pectin degradation, the synthesis of pectin degrading enzymes and ethylene production were considered to be the main reactions involved. Appropriate kinetic equations for these reactions were proposed. To estimate the parameters of the model, firmness and ethylene emission data were collected from ‘Braeburn’ apples harvested at three different stages of maturity and stored at 1 °C under different CA conditions followed by shelf life. The model could explain up to 83.64% of the total variance of the measured data.

[1]  E. Woltering,et al.  Carbon dioxide and 1-MCP inhibit ethylene production and respiration of pear fruit by different mechanisms , 1999 .

[2]  Saichol Ketsa,et al.  Firmness and activities of polygalacturonase, pectinesterase, β-galactosidase and cellulase in ripening durian harvested at different stages of maturity , 1999 .

[3]  E. Sisler,et al.  Control of ethylene responses in avocado fruit with 1-methylcyclopropene , 2000 .

[4]  Robert J. Schaffer,et al.  Co-ordination of early and late ripening events in apples is regulated through differential sensitivities to ethylene , 2009, Journal of experimental botany.

[5]  A. K. Thompson,et al.  Postharvest Technology of Fruit and Vegetables , 1996 .

[6]  J. DeEll,et al.  Influence of temperature and duration of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatment on apple quality , 2002 .

[7]  N. Rigby,et al.  A new view of pectin structure revealed by acid hydrolysis and atomic force microscopy. , 2010, Carbohydrate research.

[8]  Maarten Hertog,et al.  Temperature induces differential softening responses in apple cultivars , 2001 .

[9]  Maarten Hertog,et al.  The effect of modified atmospheres on the rate of firmness change of ‘Hayward’ kiwifruit , 2004 .

[10]  E. Mehinagic,et al.  Relationship between texture and pectin composition of two apple cultivars during storage , 2008 .

[11]  Maarten Hertog,et al.  The effect of modified atmospheres on the rate of firmness change in ‘Braeburn’ apples , 2001 .

[12]  A. Ito,et al.  Ethylene and fruit softening in the stony hard mutation in peach , 2006 .

[13]  Y. Kubo,et al.  Ethylene is required for both the initiation and progression of softening in pear (Pyrus communis L.) fruit. , 2003, Journal of experimental botany.

[14]  J. Giovannoni.  Genetic Regulation of Fruit Development and Ripening , 2004, The Plant Cell Online.

[15]  P. Trivedi,et al.  Changes in activities of cell wall hydrolases during ethylene-induced ripening in banana: effect of 1-MCP, ABA, and IAA , 2004 .

[16]  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.

[17]  Cristina M. Oliveira,et al.  Cell wall modifications during fruit ripening: when a fruit is not the fruit , 2008 .

[18]  H. Hayama,et al.  Regulation of stony hard peach softening with ACC treatment , 2008 .

[19]  R. Hellens,et al.  The Role of Ethylene and Cold Temperature in the Regulation of the Apple POLYGALACTURONASE1 Gene and Fruit Softening1[W][OA] , 2010, Plant Physiology.

[20]  R. Atkinson,et al.  Apple ACC-oxidase and polygalacturonase: ripening-specific gene expression and promoter analysis in transgenic tomato , 1998, Plant Molecular Biology.

[21]  M. Sanders,et al.  The relation between in vivo ethylene production and oxygen partial pressure , 2003 .

[22]  A. Bennett,et al.  Transcriptional Analysis of Polygalacturonase and Other Ripening Associated Genes in Rutgers, rin, nor, and Nr Tomato Fruit. , 1989, Plant physiology.

[23]  M. Génard,et al.  ETHY. A Theory of Fruit Climacteric Ethylene Emission1 , 2005, Plant Physiology.

[24]  Xuetong Fan,et al.  1-Methylcyclopropene and storage temperature influence responses of Gala' apple fruit to gamma irradiation , 2001 .

[25]  Bart Nicolai,et al.  Application note: OptiPa, an essential primer to develop models in the postharvest area , 2007 .

[26]  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 .

[27]  Bart Nicolai,et al.  A respiration–diffusion model for ‘Conference’ pears: II. Simulations and relation to core breakdown , 2003 .

[28]  Maarten Hertog,et al.  Characterisation of ‘Royal Gala’ and ‘Cox's Orange Pippin’ apple (Malus domestica) softening during controlled atmosphere storage , 2006 .

[29]  Silin Zhong,et al.  Recent advances in ethylene research. , 2009, Journal of experimental botany.

[30]  C. Watkins,et al.  Antioxidant contents and activity of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP)-treated ‘Empire’ apples in air and controlled atmosphere storage , 2009 .

[31]  Bart Nicolai,et al.  A mathematical model for the development of mealiness in apples , 2002 .

[32]  Muhammad Shafiq,et al.  Delayed harvest and cold storage period influence ethylene production, fruit firmness and quality of Cripps Pink apple , 2011 .

[33]  O. L Lau,et al.  Effect of growing season, harvest maturity, waxing, low O2 and elevated CO2 on flesh browning disorders in `Braeburn' apples , 1998 .

[34]  L. Tijskens,et al.  The firmness of stored tomatoes (cv. Tradiro). 1. Kinetic and near infrared models to describe firmness and moisture loss , 2006 .

[35]  G. Blanpied.  A study of ethylene in apple, red raspberry, and cherry. , 1972, Plant physiology.

[36]  Inge Bulens,et al.  Protocol: An updated integrated methodology for analysis of metabolites and enzyme activities of ethylene biosynthesis , 2011, Plant Methods.

[37]  G. Tucker,et al.  Biochemistry of Fruit Ripening , 1993, Springer Netherlands.

[38]  Cristina M. Oliveira,et al.  Patterns of enzymatic activity of cell wall-modifying enzymes during growth and ripening of apples , 2007 .

[39]  L. Tijskens,et al.  The firmness of stored tomatoes (cv. Tradiro). 2. Kinetic and Near Infrared models to describe pectin degrading enzymes and firmness loss , 2006 .

[40]  Maarten Hertog,et al.  Kinetics of polygalacturonase activity and firmness of peaches during storage , 1998 .