Effect of continuous exposure to exogenous ethylene during cold storage on postharvest decay development and quality attributes of stone fruits and table grapes
Lluís Palou, Carlos H. Crisosto, David Garner and Lisa M. Basinal
Postharvest Biology and Technology Volume 27, Issue 3 , March 2003, Pages 243-254
2003
บทคัดย่อ
The influence of continuous exposure to exogenous ethylene on fruit quality and on the development of postharvest brown rot of stone fruits and gray mold of table grapes during long-term cold storage was investigated using selected cultivars of table grapes (nonclimacteric) and climacteric (peach, plum, nectarine, and apricot) and nonclimacteric (sweet cherry) stone fruits. Depending on the experiment, climacteric stone fruits were exposed to concentrations of ethylene of 0, 0.1, 1, 3, 10, or 100 l l-1 during storage at 0, 5, or 10 °C for up to 28 days; sweet cherries were exposed to 0, 0.01, 0.1, or 1 l l-1 ethylene during storage at 0 or 5 °C for 21 days; and table grapes were exposed to 0, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, or 1 l l-1 ethylene during storage at 0 or 5 °C for up to 60 days. Neither incidence nor severity of brown rot were affected by constant ethylene exposure on stone fruits wound-inoculated with Monilinia fructicola. Similarly, ethylene did not affect gray mold nesting ability on table grapes artificially inoculated with Botrytis cinerea. Furthermore, ethylene exposure neither influenced external quality attributes (skin color on peaches and cherries, skin pitting and stem browning on cherries, and rachis browning on table grapes) nor internal quality attributes (flesh firmness, soluble solids concentration, and titratable acidity on all fruit, and flesh color and internal breakdown on climacteric stone fruits). The only exceptions were flesh softening of apricots, which in every test was significantly enhanced by exogenous ethylene, and flesh mealiness in experiments with ‘Elegant Lady’ peaches, the appearance of which was delayed by ethylene exposure in one case. In conclusion, no general commercial benefit could be expected from actively removing ethylene from cold storage rooms or transport containers containing peaches, plums, nectarines, sweet cherries, or table grapes.