Development of Oxygen Concentration Gradients in Flesh Tissues of Bulky Plant Organs

Abstract

Steady-state oxygen diffusion in flesh of apples (Malus domestics Borkh. cvs. Braeburn and Cox's Orange Pippin), Asian pears (Pyrus serotina Rehder. cvs. Hosui and Kosui), and nectarines [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch. cvs. Red Gold and Sunglo] was studied using a nondestructive method at 20C. Fruit flesh was found to exert a significant resistance to O2 diffusion resulting in measurable O2 gradients between tissues immediately beneath the skin and those at the fruit center for all these fruits. The magnitude of these O2 gradients varied between crops and cultivars and depended on the respiration rate and on effective O2 diffusivity in fruit flesh (De). Values of Dc varied with the cultivar and were broadly consistent with intercellular space volume. The range of De values obtained suggested that 02 diffusion in fruit flesh takes place in a combination of series and parallel modes in the intercellular space and fluid/solid matrix of the flesh. The results imply that O2 diffusivity in flesh tissues must be taken into consideration in the determination of critical external O2 level in controlled/modified atmosphere (CA/MA) storage.