EFFECTS OF DYNAMIC ATMOSPHERE ON VOLATILE COMPOUNDS, POLYPHENOLIC CONTENT, OVERALL FRUIT QUALITY, AND SENSORY EVALUATION OF 'PINK LADY^®' APPLES

Dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA) is a new technology for apple storage, in which O₂ levels are adjusted according to fruit responses to low O₂ rather than remaining fixed as under static CA. DCA uses technologies that allow sensing of fruit responses The HarvestWatch^TM system detects fruit responses to O₂ stress by measuring chlorophyll fluorescence. Over the last few years, DCA has been shown to be effective for controlling superficial scald and/or for maintaining fruit quality. The overall quality of ‘Pink Lady^®’ apples, including sensory evaluation and determination of volatiles and polyphenolic compounds, stored under DCA was monitored compared to CA, or CA with the ethylene inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), over two years. ‘Pink Lady^®’ was chosen due to its overall quality and its taste. Oxygen was around 2.5% in CA and between 0.6 and 0.8% in DCA. 1-MCP was used at the proportion of 43 mg/m³ and was applied 3 to 6 days after harvest. Apples were stored at 2°C for up to 7 months. 1-MCP and DCA maintained flesh firmness. 1-MCP decreased volatile compound levels, as well as in fruit stored in DCA, but to a lesser extent. Slight differences were observed for sensory evaluation among treatments and effects on phenolics were relatively weak for both treatments.