Impact of 1-MCP on postharvest quality of sweet cherry during cold storage

Abstract

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is a kind of fruit with short postharvest life. Postharvest treatment of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP: 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 µL/L) was applied to cherry fruits, and its effects on postharvest fruit quality during 60-day-storage at cold temperature was investigated. Sweet cherry fruits were harvested at commercial fruit maturity and exposed to 1-MCP at 20±1°C for 24 h. Following 1-MCP treatments, the fruits were stored for 60 d at 90±5% RH and, 0±1°C, in three concentrations of 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 µL/L 1-MCP, of which 1.5 µL/L 1-MCP had the most positive effect on fruit quality. Postharvest treatments of 1-MCP significantly reduced endogenous ethylene production, malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity in cherry fruits 60 d after cold storage when compared to untreated fruits. 1-MCP treatment was associated with lower respiration rate and relative electric conductivity (REC) and maintained cell membrane integrity. The results indicated that the treatment 1-MCP was effective in inhibition of the declining of POD activity and CAT activity. In conclusion, 1-MCP treatment could be a good candidate for maintaining postharvest quality of cherry, and 1-MCP could prolong the storage life of sweet cherry.

Keywords

sweet cherry / 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) / postharvest quality / cold storage

References

[1] Abdi N, Holford P, McGlasson W B, Mizrahi Y (1997). Ripening behavior and responses to propylene in four cultivars of Japanese type plums. Postharvest Biol Technol, 12(1): 21–34

[2] Anonymous (2004). Canada agricultural products act, fresh fruits and vegetable regulations. Schedule 1: Grades and standards for cherries (3pp.). Ottawa, ON: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

[3] Cai C, Chen K S, Xu W P, Zhang W S, Li X, Ferguson I (2006). Effect of 1-MCP on postharvest quality of loquat fruit. Postharvest Biol Technol, 40(2): 155–162

[4] Choi C, Wiersma P A, Toivonen P, Kappel F (2002). Fruit growth, firmness and cell wall hydrolytic enzyme activity during development of sweet cherry fruit treated with gibberellic acid (GA₃). J Hortic Sci Biotechnol, 77: 615–621

[5] Hartmann C (1989). Ethylene and ripening of a non-climacteric fruit: the cherry. Acta Hortic, 258: 89–96

[6] Jiang Y M, Joyce C D, Terry L C (2001). 1-Methylcyclopropene treatment affects strawberry fruit decay. Postharvest Biol Technol, 23(3): 227–232

[7] Ku V V V, Wills R B H (1999). Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene on the storage life of broccoli. Postharvest Biol Technol, 17(2): 127–132

[8] Kupferman E, Miller K, Rengasamy B (1995). Role of temperature on reduction of cherry damage. Washington State University Tree Fruit Postharvest Journal, 1(1) 13–15

[9] Laamim M, Oubahou A A, Benichou M (2005). Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene on the quality of clementine mandarin fruit at ambient temperature. J Food Agric Environ, 3: 34–36

[10] Lalel H J D, Singh Z, Tan S C (2003). The role of ethylene in mango fruit aroma volatiles biosynthesis. J Hortic Sci Biotechnol, 78: 485–496

[11] Lu C W, Cureatz V, Toivonen P M A (2009). Improved quality retention of packaged ‘Anjou’ pear slices using a 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) co-release technology. Postharvest Biol Technol, 51(3): 378–383 (in Chinese)

[12] Luo Z S, Xie J, Xu T Q, Zhang L (2009). Delay ripening of “Qingnan” plum (Prunus salicina Lindl.) with 1-methylcyclopropene. Plant Sci, 177(6): 705 (in Chinese)

[13] Marin B, Colonna E, Kudo K, Kupferman E, Mattheis J (2009). Measuring consumer response to ‘Gala’ apples treated with 1-methylcyclopropene(1-MCP). Postharvest Biol Technol, 51(1): 73–79

[14] Mateos M, Ke D Y, Cantwell M, Kader A A (1993). Phenolic metatolism and ethanolic fermentation of intact and cut lettuce exposed to CO₂-enriched atmosphere. J Jpn Soc Hort Sci, 3(3): 225–233

[15] Paliyath G, Droillard M J (1992). The mechanism of membrane deterioration and disassembly during senescence. Plant Physiol Biochem, 30: 789–812

[16] Pesis E, Marinansky R, Zauberman G, Fuchs Y (1994). Prestorage low-oxygen atmosphere treatment reduces chilling injury symptoms in ‘Fuerte ’avocado fruit. HortScience, 29: 1042–1046

[17] Porat R, Weiss B, Cohen L, Daus A, Goren R, Droby S (1998). Effects of ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene on the postharvest qualities of ‘Shamouti’ oranges. Postharvest Biol Technol, 15(1999): 155–163

[18] Selvarajah S, Bauchot A D, John P (2001). Internal browning in cold-stored pineapples is suppressed by a postharvest application of 1-methylcyclopropene. Postharvest Biol Technol, 23(2): 167–170

[19] Tian M S, Prakash S, Elgar H J, Young H, Burmeister D M, Ross G S (2000). Responses of strawberry fruit to 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and ethylene. Plant Growth Regul, 32: 83–90

[20] Valero D, Guillen F, Valverde J M, Martínez-Romero M, Castillo S, Serrano M (2005). 1-MCP use on Prunus spp. to maintain fruit quality and to extend shelf life during storage: a comparative study. Acta Hortic, 682: 933–940

[21] Zhang Y, Chen K S, Zhang S L, Ferguson I B (2002). The role of salicylic acid in postharvest ripening of kiwifruit. Elsevier Sci, 28(1): 67–74 (in Chinese)

[22] Zhao S J, Xu C C, Zou Q, Meng Q W (1994). Improvements of the method for measurement of malondialdehvde in plant tissues. Plant Physiol Commun, 30(3): 207–210 (in Chinese)

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2014 Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg