Delay of avocado (Persea americana) fruit ripening by 1-methylcyclopropene and wax treatments
Jiwon Jeong, Donald J. Huber , and Steven A. Sargent
Postharvest Biology and Technology Volume 28, Issue 2 , May 2003, Pages 247-257
2003
บทคัดย่อ
1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), an inhibitor of ethylene action, has been shown to extend the postharvest storage period of avocadofruit. Waxingis also known to extend the storage life of avocado by reducing water loss and modifying thefruitinternal atmosphere. In this study, 1-MCP andwaxingwere used to investigate their combined effects on ripening characteristics of avocadofruit.Preclimacteric avocado (Persea americana Mill. cv. ‘Tower II’)fruitwere treated with 1-MCP (0.9l l-1) for 12 h at 20 °C. Half of thefruitwere waxed (Sta-Fresh 819F®, FMC FoodTech) after 1-MCP treatment and subsequently stored at 20 °C in ethylene-free air at 85% relative humidity. In a separate experiment, ‘Booth 7’ avocados were treated as above and stored at 13 °C. As evaluated byfruitfirmness, ethylene evolution, and respiration rate, 1-MCP and wax significantly delayed the ripening of ‘Tower II’ avocado stored at 20 °C.Fruittreated with both 1-MCP and wax had better retention of green peel color andfruitfirmness, and delayed climacteric ethylene evolution and respiration rates compared with other treatments.Waxingalone reduced weight loss and delayed softening, but did not delay climacteric ethylene evolution and respiration rates. Whereas firmness of controlfruitdecreased from >100 to 20 N over a 7-d period at 20 °C,fruittreated with both 1-MCP and wax required more than 11 d at 20 °C to soften to 20 N. The firmness of waxed ‘Booth 7’ avocados declined from >170 to 15 N during 19 d storage at 13 °C whereasfruittreated with both 1-MCP and wax required nearly 5 weeks to reach firmness values of 25 N. 1-MCP treatment, which completely suppressed polygalacturonase activity in ‘Tower II’ and ‘Booth 7’fruitthrough 9 d at 20 °C and 36 d at 13 °C, respectively, significantly affected the rate but had little influence on the extent offruitsoftening.