EFFECTS OF ETHYLENE REMOVAL ON QUALITY OF COLD STORED ‘NIJISSEIKI’ NASHI

‘Nijisseiki’ nashi (Pyrus serotina cv ‘Nijisseiki’) produce little ethylene, but laboratory experiments show they are sensitive to it.
Growers wanted to know whether ethylene scrubbing during cold storage in air or CA would improve fruit quality.

In a laboratory experiment we compared the effects of ethylene scrubbing with the effects of a high ethylene atmosphere, such as occurs when nashi are stored with apples and pears. ‘Nijisseiki’ fruit were picked at early and late commercial harvests and stored in air or CA (1.0% CO₂: 1.5% O₂) with low or high ethylene levels (< 0.2 ml/l or > 5 ml/l) at 1°C for 4.5 or 7 months in air and 7 or 8.5 months in CA. Removal of ethylene from air storage decreased yellowing, softening, flesh spot decay, and breakdown.
In CA storage, ethylene removal decreased yellowing and softening only.
Ethylene removal was effective for each harvest date and storage time.
CA storage decreased yellowing, core browning and breakdown compared to nashi stored in air for the same time, whether the ethylene level was low or high.
The effects of CA in maintaining quality were similar in magnitude to the effects of ethylene removal.

In separate trials using commercial cold stores, ethylene scrubbing to < 0.05 ml/l maintained quality in air storage, but scrubbing to < 1.1 ml/l in CA had very little effect.

Thus, ethylene scrubbing can maintain ‘Nijisseiki’ quality, particularly in air storage, but the benefits appear to be no greater than those of using CA storage.

International Postharvest Science Conference Postharvest 96

J.D. Faragher, C.R. Little, C. Frisina, P.R. Franz

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.464.117