CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE STORAGE OF APPLES, CV. GALA, IN SOUTHERN BRAZIL

The apple cultivar Gala is one of the most important cultivars in production in Southern Brazil. As an early harvested cultivar it shows problems during cold storage, mainly, rapid fruit flesh firmness decay and, in consequence, senescent breakdown. In controlled atmosphere (CA) it was possible to extend the storage period of this cultivar by two or three months. In CA apples of the cv. Gala were significantly firmer and with higher values of soluble solids and titratable acidity in comparison to conventional cold stores. In an experiment testing different combinations of Oxygen (O₂) and Carbon dioxide (CO₂) best results were obtained with O₂ concentrations below 2% and storing temperature at 0 to 1 degree centigrade.