Abstract
1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), being applied in postharvest treatment of apples as an inhibitor of ethylene perception, contributes to improved quality of apples during 6 weeks of simulated long-distance transportation, but it was not studied if this period may be prolonged. The aim of the present study was to assess the possibility to apply 1-MCP treatment to maintain the quality of Idared apples for long-distance transportation prolonged for 8 weeks. The 1-MCP treatment was applied either alone, or combined with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) in selected gas permeability bags and was compared with control group. Postharvest, the storage in Ultra Low Oxygen (ULO) chamber was applied (3 periods: 0, 10, or 20 weeks), followed by simulated long distance transportation (storage duration of 8 weeks) and simulated distribution (4 periods: 0, 5, 10, or 15 days). Each studied group (36 groups: 3 postharvest treatments × 3 storage periods × 4 distribution periods) constituted 4 batches with 10 random apples each. After simulated distribution period, each sample was analyzed to assess the differences of firmness, total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA). The applied treatment influenced observed values of firmness, TSS and TA within each applied storage duration and duration of distribution (p < 0.05). For the majority of the studied durations of storage and distribution, the highest values of firmness, TSS and TA were observed for the samples from the group of 1-MCP applied combined with MAP, while only for some of them, the highest values of firmness and TA, but not TSS, were observed for the samples from the group of 1-MCP applied alone. It may be concluded that applying 1-MCP in the case of Idared apples for long-distance transportation allows prolonging it to 8 weeks without decreasing quality of fruits. Applying 1-MCP combined with MAP allows obtaining even better results than 1-MCP alone, after 8 weeks of transportation. It may be recommended to apply 1-MCP combined with MAP in order to slow the ripening process and to maintain the quality of apples during a long-distance transportation.
Highlights
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that fruit and vegetables are important component of diet that may reduce the risk of diet-related diseases [1]
For the majority of the studied durations of storage and distribution, the highest values of firmness were observed for the samples from the group of 1-MCP applied combined with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP)
For the samples not subjected to storage and distribution (0 weeks of storage, 0 days of distribution), the highest values of firmness were observed for the samples from the group of 1-MCP applied alone (p = 0.0157)
Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that fruit and vegetables are important component of diet that may reduce the risk of diet-related diseases [1]. In the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2003–2010, conducted in United States, it was revealed that in the studied group of children, including any apple to a diet contributed to higher general fruit intake, and improved the diet quality and was associated with lower body mass [4]. In the study by Hodgson et al [5], that was conducted in Australia, it was observed that in a group of elderly women, a higher apple intake was associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality and cancer mortality. The recent systematic review by Głabska et al [7] emphasized that apples are within those fruit which are related to better mental health, as bananas, citrus, berries, grapefruit and kiwifruit, that was revealed by Brookie et al [8]
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