Effects of Rapid Consecutive Postharvest 1-Methylcyclopropene Treatments on Fruit Quality and Storage Disorders in Apples

• Published in: HortScience Vol. 48; no. 2; pp. 227 - 232
• Main Authors: DEELL, Jennifer, EHSANI-MOGHADDAM, Behrouz
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Alexandria, VA American Society for Horticultural Science 01.02.2013
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Biological and medical sciences; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Genetics and breeding of economic plants; Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection; Malus X domestica Borkh; Production quality; Horticulture; Rosaceae; Cycloalkene; Postharvest; Climacteric; Malus domestica; Postharvest disease; Controlled atmosphere; Temperate zone; Unsaturated compound; Dicotyledones; 1-MCP; Angiospermae; Plant growth substance; Fruit tree; Organic compounds; 'Spartan' apples; Pome fruit; Metabolic inhibitor; Apple; Storage; Treatment; Cyclic compound; Fruit crop; 'McIntosh' apples; Spermatophyta; Cultivar
• ISSN: 0018-5345; 2327-9834
• DOI: 10.21273/hortsci.48.2.227

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of rapid consecutive 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) treatments on apple quality and disorders in storage. ‘McIntosh’ and ‘Spartan’ apples were harvested twice from commercial orchards and 1-MCP (1 μL·L −1 ) was applied postharvest either 1 day after harvest or 1 and 2 days after harvest. Similar fruit from both cultivars were also not treated with 1-MCP, plus an additional treatment of 2 μL·L −1 (double rate) 1-MCP was used on ‘McIntosh’. Fruit were held in either air storage at 0.5 °C for three or six months or in controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage for six or nine months. Overall, 1-MCP treatment improved firmness and acidity retention and reduced internal ethylene in both cultivars. However, ‘Spartan’ stored in CA often maintained these attributes without 1-MCP. ‘McIntosh’ apples treated twice with 1-MCP were often firmer than those treated just once. All 1-MCP treatments substantially reduced superficial scald and there was no difference in scald incidence among the treatments. Core browning was generally reduced by 1-MCP, but fruit treated once with 2 μL·L −1 or twice with 1 μL·L −1 1-MCP sometimes had higher incidence than fruit treated only once with 1 μL·L −1 . ‘Spartan’ treated twice with 1-MCP also had higher incidence of internal browning after nine months. 1-MCP increased the incidence of external CO 2 injury in ‘McIntosh’ from the first harvest, with fruit treated with 2 μL·L −1 having the highest incidence after six months of CA storage and those treated once with 1 μL·L −1 having the highest incidence after nine months. Storage rots were greatest after six months of air storage and 1-MCP treatments usually reduced the incidence, regardless of treatment. These results suggest that using more than the traditional single application of 1 μL·L −1 1-MCP may improve firmness retention, but there is also some risk associated with increased disorders, especially when storing apples long-term, such as for six months in air or nine months in CA storage.