Abstract
The application of ultraviolet light on fruit and vegetables is a promising new method to control storage diseases and to delay the onset of senescence. In this investigation, we studied the effects of hormic dose (1,4 Merg•cm-2) of UV-radiation on the ripening of tomato pericarp discs by measuring different characteristics of ripening and senescence during storage. We observed that UV-treatment induced significant delays of the red color development, chlorophyll degradation, and lycopene production compared to control discs. UV-treatment also retarded the decline of the chlorophyll-a fluorescence ratios Fv: Fm and *F : Fm′, two characteristics related, respectively, to the maximum and operational quantum yield of photosystem II electron transport. Furthermore, the climacteric ethylene peak was delayed in the treated discs. However, UV-treatment did not alter textural changes, and the respiratory climacteric peaks were observed concomitantly for both treated and untreated tomato discs. However, the respiratory rate was consistently higher in treated discs. These results indicate that UV irradiation of tomato pericarp discs delays some processes of ripening associated with chloroplast to chromoplast transition whereas other ripening processes seem unaffected.
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