Author(s):
Oliveira, Cristina Moniz 
; Dionísio, Luís ; Neto, Cláudia ; Goulão, Luís ; Clemente, Josué ; Henriques, Jorge ; Lourenço, Inês
Date: 2009
Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/2376
Origin: Repositório da UTL
Subject(s): pome fruits; 1-MCP; ripening; storage; pomóideas; amadurecimento; conservação
Description
In order to study the evolution of the quality characteristics of apples cv.
Royal Gala under refrigerated air storage, 625 ppb of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP)
were applied to the fruits for 24 h at 0 ºC. Fruit samples were analysed after storage and
after 7 days at 20 ºC (shelf-life) for titratable acidity, pulp firmness, total soluble solids
content and skin colour along a 180 days storage period. The storage conditions in the
first year were 0 ºC and 90-95 % RH in commercial storage rooms, while in the second
year the fruits were stored at 2 ºC and 90-95 % RH, in experimental storage rooms. The
results showed that in the second year the fruits had a higher maturity index at harvest
as compared to the first year. In both years, after storage and after the shelf-life period,
the fruits treated with 1-MCP showed the same tendency in all the analysed
characteristics, with significantly higher (P < 0,05) titratable acidity and pulp firmness.After cold storage and after the shelf-life period, the 1-MCP treatment delayed
yellowing, kept the luminosity levels and induced higher colour saturation during the
storage period (P < 0,05). In the first year there were no differences in total soluble
solids content between treated and non treated fruits, but in the second year total soluble
solids content was higher after storage and after the shelf-life period (P < 0,05) in the 1-
MCP treated fruits.
