Abstract
Early- and late-hervested mume fruits (Japanese apricot, Prunus mume Sieb, et Zucc. cv. Gojiro) were stored for 3 days at 25 °C under several controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions, and the effects on oxygen uptake and gas evolution during CA storage and quality changes of fruits in or after CA storage were investigated.1. Ripening characteristics of mume fruits in or after CA storage were much affected by the harvesting time. Volumes of oxygen uptake and ethylene production during 3 days storage were two and five times, respectively, more with late-harvested fruits exposed to ambient air than there were with early-harvested fruits. Percentages of injured and rotting fruits in or after CA storage were higher in late-harvested fruits than in early-har-vested fruits.2. Compared to fruits in ambient air supply, the volumes of oxygen uptake and ethylene production of mume fruits decreased when exposed to a gas mixture of 19.8% CO2 and 21%O2 ; they decreased even more when the CA gas contained 5%O2 or 2%O2. However, at 2%O2 and no CO2, the percentage of physiologically injured fruits increased considerably in or after the storage.3. When fruits were exposed to a mixture of high CO2 and low O2, the rates of O2 uptake and productions of CO2, acetaldehyde, ethyl alcohol, and the percentages of injured brown fruits increased as the supplying volume of the gas mixture was increased. Our data indicate that anaerobic respiration and browning injury are functions of oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations.4. In the injured brown fruits, activities of phenol oxidase (PhOD) and peroxidase (POD) and chlorophyll content were lower than those of sound fruits. Therefore, the browning injury was considered to be in consequence of necrosis of tissue by accumulation of anaerobic metabolite, such as acetaldehyde, in low concentration of oxygen.5. These results suggest that removing ethylene from the storage atmosphere and maintaining the CA storage at approximately 8%CO2 and low O2 of minimum concentration of 2% are important to retain the quality of mume fruits.
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