Relationships between internal ethylene and optical reflectance in ripening ‘Antonovka’ apples grown under sunlit and shaded conditions
Alexei Solovchenko, Liudmila Kozhina, Yuri Nazarov and Vladimir Gudkovsky
Postharvest Biology and Technology, Volume 59, Issue 2, February 2011, Pages 206-209
2011
บทคัดย่อ
The feasibility of non-destructive estimation of internal ethylene concentration (IEC) in apple fruit via fruit reflectance using recently developed approaches and a fiber-optics reflectometer was investigated. The relationships between IEC and fruit reflectance in the 400–800 nm range were studied in stored apple (Malus × domestica Borkh., cv. Antonovka) fruit. A strong correlation between IEC and optical reflectance spectra taken from sunlit surfaces of the fruit was detected whereas reflectance of the shaded fruit surface showed a weak correlation with IEC. The increase of the reflectance in the red occurred along with IEC build-up during ripening resulting a strong (r2 > 0.80) correlation. By contrast, reflectance in the blue-green part of the spectrum remained low and was negatively (r2 ≈ 0.65) correlated with IEC. These observations are consistent with the phenomenon of degradation of chlorophylls which often occurs in parallel with the retention of carotenoids in ripening apple skin. As a result, IEC showed a significant correlation (r2 > 0.69; P < 0.001) with the index based on reflectances in the red and blue-green regions of the spectrum (R678 − R480)/R800. The effects of strong solar light on the relationships between IEC and fruit reflectance are considered. The possibilities and limitations of a non-destructive reflectance-based assay of IEC in apple fruit are discussed.