Effects of stage II and postharvest deficit irrigation on peach quality during maturation and after cold storage

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture Vol. 84; no. 6; pp. 561 - 568
• Main Authors: Gelly, M, Recasens, I, Girona, J, Mata, M, Arbones, A, Rufat, J, Marsal, J
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 30.04.2004; Wiley; John Wiley and Sons, Limited
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; cell respiration; Citrus fruits; Cold storage; commercial harvest; deficit irrigation; early pick-up; ethylene production; Food industries; Fruit and vegetable industries; fruit crops; fruit quality; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Harvest; harvesting; Irrigation; irrigation scheduling; peaches; postharvest physiology; Prunus persica; quality; regulated deficit irrigation; respiration; ripening; soluble solids; storage quality; titratable acidity; Irrigation; Fruit; Cold; commercial harvest; Rosaceae; Peach; ethylene production; Postharvest; respiration; Prunus persica; Warehousing; Dicotyledones; Quality; cold storage; Angiospermae; early pick-up; regulated deficit irrigation; Food preservation; Spermatophyta
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.1686

Effects of regulated deficit irrigation (RDI) on the quality of a mid-late maturing peach (Prunus persica L Batsch cv Andross) were determined at commercial harvest as well as 1 week before (early pick-up) and after 1 week of cold storage. Respiration and ethylene evolution were measured during 96 h on fruits sampled at early pick-up and at harvest. Fruits from a well-watered irrigation treatment (Control) were compared with a treatment of RDI during stage II of fruit growth (RDI-SII) and with RDI applied postharvest (RDI-PH). A fourth treatment received a combination of deficit irrigation applied during stage II and postharvest (RDI-SII-PH). Higher soluble solids content (SSC) amd SSC/titratable acidity (TA) ratio for RDI-SII were already noted at early pick-up and these differences were enhanced after cold storage (RDI fruits having higher SSC, lower TA and higher SSC/TA ratio than Control fruits). This improvement in quality (high SSC/TA ratio) was also correlated with a more reddish colouration in the fruit skin. Moreover, ethylene production indicated different behaviour of the physiological evolution for fruits from the different treatments.