Indian apple quality characteristics as affected by controlled atmosphere storage
1National Agri-Food Biotechnology Institute, Sector-81 (Knowledge City), S.A.S. Nagar, Mohali-140306, Punjab, India. 2Dr. S. S. Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (SSBUICET), Panjab University, Chandigarh, 160014, India. 3Department of Molecular Science, BioCenter, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7015, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. Corresponding e-mail: koushik@nabi.res.in, kmazumder78@gmail.com
DOI: https://doi.org/10.37855/jah.2022.v24i03.48
Key words: Apple, postharvest storage, controlled atmosphere storage, shelf life.
Abstract: The effects of controlled atmosphere (CA) storage on postharvest qualities of apple (Royal Delicious) were investigated. Compared to the postharvest quality of fresh apple (0 day) a significant change in the fruit qualities such as respiration rate, firmness, ripening, color, low molecular weight sugar, enzyme activity and concentrations of volatile compounds were observed during CA storage. After 90 days CA storage, apples showed a significant increase in respiration rate (58.7%), ripening index (13.9%) and reduction in firmness (35.8%) compared to fresh apples. During 90 days CA storage, the apple aroma volatile compounds showed a significant increase in their total concentrations from 151.2 µg/kg to 280.7 µg/kg compared to initial storage, followed by a remarkable decrease to 141.8µg/kg during 180 days of storage. Therefore, the study enables us to conclude that the prolonged CA storage of apples significantly reduced fruit quality.
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