Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #162032
Title: INDUCING OPTIMAL RIPENING CAPACITY OF 1-MCP-TREATED 'BARTLETT' PEARS AFTER REGULAR AIR OR CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE STORAGE

Author
item BAI, JINHE - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item CHEN, PAUL - OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY
item Baldwin, Elizabeth - Liz
item Mattheis, James

Submitted to: American Society for Horticultural Science
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/1/2004
Publication Date: 7/1/2004
Citation: Bai, J., Chen, P., Baldwin, E.A., Mattheis, J.P. 2004. Inducing optimal ripening capacity of 1-mcp-treated 'bartlett' pears after regular air or controlled atmosphere storage. HortScience. 39:782.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: 'Bartlett' pears were treated with 300 nL L-1 1-MCP at 20°C for 24 h shortly after harvest, and were stored at -1°C in either regular atmosphere (RA) or controlled atmosphere (CA: 1.5 kPa O2 / 0.5 kPa CO2). After 2 and 4 months of RA storage, or 4 months of CA storage, fruit were pre-conditioned at 10°C, 15°C or 20°C for 5, 10 or 20 days, respectively. Pre-conditioned fruit were then held at 20°C for 14 days to simulate marketing conditions. Flesh firmness (FF) and extractable juice (EJ) were monitored during the marketing period. The optimal stage of ripeness for 'Bartlett' pears was defined to be when FF decreases to 27 N and EJ decreases to 55 mL 100 g-1. The proper pre-conditioning combinations of temperature and duration were 15°C or 20°C for 10 d or 10°C for 20 d if the fruit had been stored in RA for 2 months, 10°C or 15°C for 5 d if the fruit had been in RA for 4 months, and 20°C for 10 d or 10°C for 20 d if the fruit had been in CA for 4 months, for which combinations the fruit ripened within a week and maintained quality for 14 days at 20°C. The treatment combinations of lower temperature and/or shorter duration times in pre-conditioning delayed the ripening response of the fruit, and combinations of higher temperature and/or longer duration times in pre-conditioning resulted in a shorter marketing life because of senescence breakdown, in comparison to the optimal combinations mentioned above. These results indicate that pre-conditioning regimes for 1-MCP treated 'Bartlett' pears are storage atmosphere and time dependent. Generally, CA stored fruit needed more preconditioning (in terms of higher temperature and/or longer duration) than did RA stored fruit.