ISHS Acta Horticulturae 157: Postharvest Handling of Vegetables
EFFECT OF CO2 ON THE CONSERVATION OF 'SPARTAN' AND 'MCINTOSH' APPLES IN TEMPORARILY SEALED REGULAR STORAGE |
| Authors: | C.T. Phan, E. Bardon, R.L. Granger |
| Abstract:
Increasing intermittently the level of CO2 by up to 20% in a regular cold storage room gave apples (Malus domestica Borkh) a series of so-called shocks. There were seven of them in this 115 days experiment. The room containing equal amounts of 'McIntosh' and 'Spartan' apples was sealed for four days after each shock and left unsealed during an 11-day airing period. After the first CO2 shock the internal ethylene (C2H4) level of the apples of both cultivars was devreased markedly by the treatment. This difference remained constant until the end of the experiment and then faded out entirely. Shortly after the last treatment, the treated fruit contained more juice but its weight loss was not devreased significantly. The treated apples were firmer but their soluble solids content did not vary significantly. From the middle until the end of the experiment the apples submitted to the CO2 shocks tasted better than comparable fruit left in the control room. However one month after the last CO2 shock about 15% of the treated apples began to develop an alcoholic flavour. | |
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