Skip to main content
ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wenatchee, Washington » Physiology and Pathology of Tree Fruits Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316873
Title: Differences in ethylene and fruit quality attributes during storage in new apple cultivars

Author
item LEE, JINWOOK - Kyungpook National University
item KANG, IN-KYU - Kyungpook National University
item KWON, SOON-LI - Kyungpook National University
item YOO, JINGI - Kyungpook National University
item Mattheis, James

Submitted to: Korean Society of Horticulture Science Journal
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/4/2016
Publication Date: 4/29/2016
Citation: Lee, J., Kang, I., Kwon, S., Yoo, J., Mattheis, J.P. 2016. Differences in ethylene and fruit quality attributes during storage in new apple cultivars. Korean Society of Horticulture Science Journal. doi: 10.12972/kjhst.20160027.

Interpretive Summary: Successful introduction of new apple varieties to the marketplace depends on a number of factors including consumer acceptance, ease of production, and, critically, how well the fruit respond to storage conditions. Response to storage conditions is determined by each varieties’ biology of ripening with some rapidly softening and losing flavor while others remaining firm with good flavor over months after harvest. Ripening characteristics are an important consideration for growers to adopt new varieties, this paper documents ripening characteristics of 5 new apple varieties and shows 3 are typical of other early season apples while 2 are somewhat unique with a slow ripening pattern.

Technical Abstract: Physiological characteristics of five new apple cultivars from the Korean apple breeding program were evaluated as a function of harvest date and storage after harvest. Internal ethylene concentration (IEC), fruit weight, the ratio of fruit length to fruit diameter, flesh firmness, soluble solids concentration (SSC), and titratable acidity (TA) were measured in ‘Summer Dream’, ‘Summer King’, ‘Green Ball’, ‘Picnic’, and ‘Hwangok’ apples at harvest, during shelf life at 20 oC, and after cold storage at 0.5 oC in air. IEC increased during shelf life in ‘Summer Dream’, ‘Summer King’, and ‘Green Ball’ but not in ‘Picnic’ or ‘Hwangok’ regardless of harvest date. Flesh firmness decreased with harvest date and during cold storage in the former three cultivars but was mostly unchanged in the later two cultivars. In turn, IEC increased during cold storage in the first three cultivars but not for the last two cultivars, irrespective of harvest time. Changes in SSC and TA did not consistently relate to harvest date or storage duration but TA tended to decrease as IEC increased. Furthermore, IEC was negatively correlated with firmness but the significance was much greater in ‘Summer Dream’ and ‘Summer King’ than in ‘Picnic’ or ‘Hwangok’ cultivars. Firmness was positively correlated with TA in the first three cultivars but not in the last two cultivars. Overall, the results indicated that cultivars for which IEC increased after harvest had reduced flesh firmness and TA after storage.