MODIFICATION OF α-FARNESENE LEVELS IN COOL STORED ‘GRANNY SMITH’ APPLES BY VENTILATION

Authors:	A.J. Matich, N.H. Banks, D.D. Rowan
Abstract: Ventilation of ‘Granny Smith’ apples during cool storage successfully created a 3–4 fold range of concentrations of -farnesene in the apple wax. Depletion of -farnesene from the wax by ventilation did not commence until after 33 days of storage, at which time there was a short period of rapid depletion followed by a longer period of gradual depletion. This behaviour suggested a change, with storage time, in the mechanism of loss of -farnesene from the fruit surface. Evaporation of -farnesene into the air stream increased its airborne concentration down the tubes, with a concomitant decrease in its rate of evaporation from the fruit. The concentration of -farnesene in the apple wax rose 13-fold during the first month of cool storage and decreased thereafter. In contrast, -farnesene levels in the air stream rose to a maximum at between 53 to 95 days storage time and then decreased. Thus, the rate of evaporation of -farnesene from the fruit did not depend solely upon its concentration in the wax, and may be related to compositional changes in the wax coating. Levels of -farnesene oxidation products (conjugated trienes) were not markedly affected by ventilation and did not correlate well with -farnesene levels.
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