Abstract
The maintenance of high-quality standards for prolonging the shelf life of fruit and preserving sensory and nutritional quality is a priority for horticultural products. The aim of this work is to test the effectiveness of a single treatment of edible coating based on Aloe arborescens (EC) and a combined treatment of 1-methylcycyclopropene (1-MCP) and edible coating to prolong the shelf life of “Settembrina” white flesh peach fruit. White flesh peach fruit were harvested at the commercial ripening stage, treated with an edible coating (EC) or 1-MCP + EC or 1-MCP, and stored for 28 days at 1 °C. After 7, 14, 21, and 28 days, fruits were removed from cold storage, transferred at 20 °C and then analyzed immediately (cold out) and after 6 days (shelf life) to evaluate the combined effect of cold storage and room temperature. The fruits were tested for carotenoids content, phenolic content, reducing activity (ABTS). The physicochemical traits were measured in terms of the titratable acidity, total soluble content, weight loss, and vitamin C content. Moreover, their sensory profile was analyzed by a semi-trained panel. Fruit treated with EC and 1-MCP + EC kept their marketing values better than control after 14 days of storage and 6 days of simulated shelf life in terms of flesh firmness, total soluble solids and titratable acidity, as well as sensory parameters. After 21 days of storage, all treatments showed a deterioration of all the quality parameters. The single and combined application of Aloe-based coating (with 1-MCP) slowed down the maturation processes of the fruit, limited the weight loss, and preserved its organoleptic characteristics.
Highlights
IntroductionWhite flesh melting peaches rapidly soften after commercial maturity, and are highly sensitive to chilling injuries and can be damaged during shelf life [2]
Peach is a climacteric fruit that dramatically increases ethylene production during ripening [1].White flesh melting peaches rapidly soften after commercial maturity, and are highly sensitive to chilling injuries and can be damaged during shelf life [2]
Treatments had a significant effect on flesh firmness, which decreased linearly in the untreated fruit during the cold storage period; this is consistent with what is generally reported for peach fruit after harvest [62]
Summary
White flesh melting peaches rapidly soften after commercial maturity, and are highly sensitive to chilling injuries and can be damaged during shelf life [2]. Several postharvest treatments have been studied to control chilling injury, including salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, 1-methylcyclopropene, heat-stock treatment, peach-gum coating, controlled atmosphere, ozone and radiation; these treatments have proven to be effective to improve fruit quality during postharvest storage [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11]. The development of new technologies in controlling the fruit ripening process allows us to prolong its shelf life, reducing distribution loss and supplying high-quality fruit to the market. Among the Agriculture 2020, 10, 151; doi:10.3390/agriculture10050151 www.mdpi.com/journal/agriculture
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