Apple

Authors: WATKINS, CHRISTOPHER - Cornell University; Mattheis, James

Submitted to: CRC Press
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/16/2018
Publication Date: 1/15/2019
Citation: Watkins, C.B., Mattheis, J.P. 2019. Apple. In: Tonetto de Freitas, S., Pareek S., editors. Postharvest Physiological Disorders in Fruits and Vegetables, 1st Edition. Boca Raton, Florida: Taylor & Francis Group, CRC Press. p. 165-207. https://doi.org/10.1201/b22001.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1201/b22001

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Apple fruit represent a wide diversity of species and genotypes that are grown in temperate climates around the world using a variety of orchard management systems, harvested at a range of maturities, and then stored for short to long periods in air and controlled atmosphere conditions at low temperatures. As a result, many physiological disorders of the skin and flesh have been identified, often cultivar dependent, that are associated with immaturity or over-maturity, sensitivity of fruit to low oxygen and high carbon dioxide, temperature, and storage period. A new technology, 1-methylcyclopropene, an inhibitor of ethylene action, has revealed that presence or absence of ethylene can affect susceptibility of fruit to disorders. Physiological disorders typically result from failure of the structure and stability of the cell walls and membranes, cellular function, and subsequent browning reactions in response to senescence, inhibited ripening or imposed stresses. Factors that affect susceptibility of fruit to disorders include morphology, the physiological stage of maturation and ripening at harvest, and mineral composition, all of which can interact, and can be affected by the growing environment.