Abstract
Superficial scald is the most common physiological disorder in apples and pears and causes huge economic losses worldwide. The aim of this study is to determine the different scald susceptibilities of seven pear cultivars/selections during five months of cold storage (CS). Four advanced pear selections and three commercial cultivars were harvested from an orchard located in Emilia-Romagna region, and cold stored at −1 °C and 85% relative humidity (RH).After 90, 120, and 150 days, fruits of each cultivar and selection were removed for ripening for 4 d, after which scald damage, physico-chemical and nutraceutical traits, and enzymatic antioxidant systems were evaluated on peel and pulp. ‘Abbé Fétel’, ‘Falstaff’, and ‘CREA 171’ did not showed superficial scald symptoms after 90 days, while ‘Doyenne du Comice’ and ‘CREA 264’ showed the highest susceptibility. After 90 days, CS ‘Falstaff’ and ‘CREA 179’ showed the highest total polyphenol content (TPH) in peel, followed by ‘Doyenne du Comice’ and ‘AbbéFétel’; lowest TPH was detected in ‘CREA 264’. After 120 and 150 days of CS, ‘Abbé Fétel’ and ‘CREA 171’ showed the highest peel TPH. ‘CREA 264’ and ‘CREA 125’ reached the lowest values of TPH during the three CS time periods. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities were higher in the peel of scald-resistant than that in scald-susceptible pear cultivars/advanced selections. Superficial scald induced an increase in polyphenoloxidase, and guaiacol peroxidase activities involved in fruit-browning during CS. Furthermore, we observed an increase in lipoxygenase activity and consequent membrane damage in both the peel and flesh of the fruit. This study indicates that pear cultivars/advanced selections have different superficial scald susceptibilities that enable them to induce the activity of several antioxidant enzymes, following CS.
Highlights
Superficial scald is the most common physiological disorder of pome fruits such as apples and pears and causes huge economic losses worldwide [1]
Complex networks and multiple key factors are involved in fruit superficial scald development, such as ethylene metabolism, α-farnesene content, hydroperoxides or conjugated trienols (CTols), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and programmed cell death (PCD); other physiological or biochemical processes that determine scald susceptibility are not equivalent in apples and pears [2,4,5,6]
No positive correlation has been found between ethylene production and scald incidence in pears, as demonstrated in the ‘Beurréd’Anjou’ pear that contains a low amount of ethylene but high scald susceptibility [7]
Summary
Superficial scald is the most common physiological disorder of pome fruits such as apples and pears and causes huge economic losses worldwide [1]. The susceptibility of a fruit to scald depends on pre-harvest factors, low temperatures during fruit storage, and genetic traits of cultivars. Complex networks and multiple key factors are involved in fruit superficial scald development, such as ethylene metabolism, α-farnesene content, hydroperoxides or conjugated trienols (CTols), reactive oxygen species (ROS), and programmed cell death (PCD); other physiological or biochemical processes that determine scald susceptibility are not equivalent in apples and pears [2,4,5,6]. Several studies have demonstrated that α-farnesene biosynthesis could be not ethylene-dependent but influenced by pre- and post-harvest factors in different pear cultivars [4,7,8,9]
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