FERMENTATION PRODUCTS AND SUCCINATE CONTENT IN TWO APPLE CULTIVARS WITH DIFFERENT TOLERANCES TO CARBON DIOXIDE

Apple fruit susceptibility to CO₂ injury, which can lead to significant commercial losses, is affected by cultivar and growing conditions (Elgar et al., 1999; Volz et al., 1998; Watkins et al., 1997). Recently, it has been shown that diphenylamine (DPA) treatments used for scald control can inhibit development of the injury (Watkins et al., 1997). However, the mechanism whereby CO₂ injury occurs, or how it is alleviated by DPA, is not understood.
Most research on CO₂ treatments has focused on accumulation of succinate and fermentation products in fruit tissues, but relationships between these compounds and CO₂ injury are not clear.
Hulme (1956) proposed that, because succinate is toxic to plant tissues, its accumulation was responsible for CO₂ injury in apple fruit, but this concept has not been seriously questioned.
In this study, we have utilized cultivar variation to examine differences in metabolism under elevated CO₂ conditions either with or without DPA pretreatment.

IV International Conference on Postharvest Science

C.B. Watkins, J.P. Fernádez-Trujillo, J.F. Nock

Malus domestica, Diphenylamine, Carbon dioxide injury

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.553.62