Effects of “Rapid CA”, High CO2, and CaCl2 Treatments on Storage Behavior of ‘Golden Delicious’ Apples1

Abstract

Excellent firmness retention in ‘Golden Delicious’ apples was achieved in a “rapid CA” (rapid reduction of O2 by use of N2 flushing) storage procedure. Pretreatment of the fruit with high levels of CO2 prior to rapid CA had little or no effect on firmness. Higher flesh calcium content was beneficial in firmness retention when fruit was stored in air, in “slow CA” (O2 reduced by fruit respiration), or held in air for 10 days prior to rapid CA. Rapid CA provides an effective means to control softening in ‘Golden Delicious’ apples and to avoid injury caused by calcium and high CO2 treatments.

Harvest Indices, Dessert Quality, and Storability of ‘Jonagold’ Apples in Air and Controlled Atmosphere Storage

“…Starch index (SI, described below) and internal ethylene concentration (IEC, by gas chromatography) of each individual fruit, and flesh firmness (FF, by Magness-Taylor penetrometer with a 11.1-mm-diameter tip), soluble solids (SS, by refractometry), titratable acidity (TA, by titration to pH 8.1 with NaOH), yellow ground color and red color (by " Golden Delicious Color Meter" and " Red Color Meter" , respectively, Techwest Enterprises Ltd., Vancouver, B.C. ; higher values on a 0-10 scale indicate more yellow and red color, respectively), and water core (WC, by visual inspection) of each fruit lot were determined according to methods described previously (5)(6)(7). The fruit samples were stored in air or in 1.5% 0 2 + 1.5% C 0 2 (an atmosphere established within 6 days of harvest) at 0°C, with »90% to 92% RH.…”

“…Fruit upon removal from the storage and after an additional 4 or 7 days in 20°C air were analyzed for FF, TA, and the incidence of storage disorders. The relationship of fruit Ca and K determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (7) and BD were determined in fruit harvested from a 3-year-old commercial orchard on 22 Oct. 1986 and kept for 1 month in 0° air storage.…”

“…An increase in toughness was observed in segmented (i.e., wounded) whole asparagus spears (7). Since toughness in asparagus has been reported to result from increased PAL activity and lignin synthesis (5), which are induced by wounding, experiments were designed to investigate the effect of an inhibitor of aromatic amino acid synthesis on toughness.…”

Effect of Calcium on Ripening, Respiratory Rate, Ethylene Production, and Quality of Avocado Fruit

“…Commercial Ca treatment of avocados to delay ripening and reduce chilling injury symptoms does not seem practical, because of the necessity to vacuum-infiltrate the Ca solution into the fruit and the adverse effect on external quality when ripened after storage.The physiology of plants is influenced profoundly by the level of Ca during growth and development (5,8). Increasing the Ca content of apples has been reported to retard senescence and to reduce physiological disorders during storage (1,6,9,10,12), and to reduce the respiratory rate and the ethylene production (1,4,7,11). Low levels of Ca in avocados have been associated with chilling injury susceptibility (2), and avocados with low levels of Ca ripen more rapidly than avocados with higher levels of Ca (13,14).…”

“…The physiology of plants is influenced profoundly by the level of Ca during growth and development (5,8). Increasing the Ca content of apples has been reported to retard senescence and to reduce physiological disorders during storage (1,6,9,10,12), and to reduce the respiratory rate and the ethylene production (1,4,7,11). Low levels of Ca in avocados have been associated with chilling injury susceptibility (2), and avocados with low levels of Ca ripen more rapidly than avocados with higher levels of Ca (13,14).…”