Articles
Ripening process evaluation of tomatoes treated with different concentrations of 1-MCP ripening inhibitor
Article number
1445_40
Pages
287 – 294
Language
English
Abstract
Initially, gaseous 1-methylcyclopropene was only used for cut flowers, but later on it was also found effective as an anti-ripening agent for fruits and vegetables.
Several previous studies have confirmed the efficacy of 1-MCP on apples, pears, plums, and tomatoes, but the treatment parameters for tomatoes are not yet fully developed.
At present, the manufacturer’s recommendation is to treat tomatoes for 24 h at a gas concentration of approximately 600 ppb 1-MCP. The aim of our research was to investigate how the ripening process of tomatoes changes under different 1-MCP gas concentrations.
In our experiment, in Hungary grown and freshly harvested fruits of Lycopersicon esculentum ‘Boderine’ tomatoes were tested.
Tomatoes were harvested at 4 different stages of ripeness based on their colour: mature green, turning, pink, and fully ripe red.
Two different treatments were applied per group, and there was also a control, untreated group for comparison. 1-MCP treatments were carried out on the day of harvest at 20°C for 24 h at 625 and 1000 ppb concentrations, followed by room storage at 20°C. Surface colour, chlorophyll content, and texture were monitored by non-destructive methods for 2 weeks of storage.
Based on our results obtained, 1-Methylcyclopropene anti-ripening treatment was the most effective for the mature green tomatoes, with approximately 80% of the samples remaining green after 1 week of treatment, compared to 20% in the control group.
Furthermore, it can be concluded that a 1-MCP concentration of 625 ppb was sufficient to treat tomatoes, with higher concentrations not providing a significant benefit in terms of the quality characteristics we tested.
Several previous studies have confirmed the efficacy of 1-MCP on apples, pears, plums, and tomatoes, but the treatment parameters for tomatoes are not yet fully developed.
At present, the manufacturer’s recommendation is to treat tomatoes for 24 h at a gas concentration of approximately 600 ppb 1-MCP. The aim of our research was to investigate how the ripening process of tomatoes changes under different 1-MCP gas concentrations.
In our experiment, in Hungary grown and freshly harvested fruits of Lycopersicon esculentum ‘Boderine’ tomatoes were tested.
Tomatoes were harvested at 4 different stages of ripeness based on their colour: mature green, turning, pink, and fully ripe red.
Two different treatments were applied per group, and there was also a control, untreated group for comparison. 1-MCP treatments were carried out on the day of harvest at 20°C for 24 h at 625 and 1000 ppb concentrations, followed by room storage at 20°C. Surface colour, chlorophyll content, and texture were monitored by non-destructive methods for 2 weeks of storage.
Based on our results obtained, 1-Methylcyclopropene anti-ripening treatment was the most effective for the mature green tomatoes, with approximately 80% of the samples remaining green after 1 week of treatment, compared to 20% in the control group.
Furthermore, it can be concluded that a 1-MCP concentration of 625 ppb was sufficient to treat tomatoes, with higher concentrations not providing a significant benefit in terms of the quality characteristics we tested.
Authors
Z. Horváth-Mezőfi, L.L.P. Nguyen, N.T.T. Ha, G. Hitka, Z. Sasvár, M. Göb, N. Alwani, M. Boylu, T. Zsom
Keywords
chlorophyll fluorescence, acoustic firmness, anti-ripening, quality, shelf-life, SmartFresh
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