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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #432728
Research Project: Pecan Processing Technology

Location: Fruit and Tree Nut Research

Title: Combination of low pressure and 1-methylcyclopropene extends the storage life of ‘Early Rich’ peaches

Author
item Sun, Xiuxiu
item ANTHONY, BRENDON - Ripelocker, Llc
item Bardsley, Cameron
item Sherman, Samantha
item POTT, JAKOB - Ripelocker, Llc
item Lau, Jeekin
item Chasteen, Kaicie
item Chen, Chunxian

Submitted to: HortScience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/23/2026
Publication Date: 4/14/2026
Citation: Sun, X.N., Anthony, B., Bardsley, C.A., Sherman, S.H., Pott, J., Lau, J., Chasteen, K.S., Chen, C. 2026. Combination of low pressure and 1-methylcyclopropene extends the storage life of ‘Early Rich’ peaches. HortScience. 61(5):1012-1016. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI19368-26.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI19368-26

Interpretive Summary: Peach is a widely consumed fruit due to its juicy texture, sweetness, and characteristic aroma. However, peaches are climacteric fruit with high respiration rates and rapid softening after harvest, resulting in a limited postharvest life. Low pressure (LP) storage, also referred to as hypobaric storage, suppresses respiration and ethylene activity, thereby slowing fruit ripening and senescence. In this research, LP storage significantly improved the postharvest quality of peaches by reducing weight loss and chilling injury symptoms. The combination of LP and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) provided significant firmness retention, particularly during shelf life, and extended effective storage duration by approximately 1–2 weeks.

Technical Abstract: Peach fruit are highly perishable and prone to chilling injury (CI) during cold storage, limiting postharvest storage life. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of low pressure (LP) storage alone and in combination with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), to delay maturation, mitigate CI, and thus extend the storage life of ‘Early Rich’ peaches. Fruit were stored under atmospheric pressure (AP) or LP storage conditions without or with 1-MCP, and evaluated after 21 and 35 days of cold storage followed by simulated shelf life conditions at 20 °C. LP storage significantly reduced weight loss and CI incidence compared with AP controls. The combination of LP and 1-MCP resulted in the greatest firmness retention during shelf life, though excessive firmness might suggest potential overexposure to 1-MCP. Alternatively, this may suggest that the storage durations could be much longer before softening becomes the limiting postharvest factor. Internal quality parameters (soluble solids content and titratable acidity) were largely preserved under LP storage, despite higher respiration rates than expected. These results indicate that LP storage, particularly when combined with optimized 1-MCP dosing, can extend the storage life of ‘Early Rich’ peaches by approximately 1-2 weeks while maintaining marketable quality.