SHELF LIFE EXTENSION OF APPLES WITH POLYMERIC FILMS

E.W. Hewett, N.H. Banks, J. Dixon, H.L. Percy, M.S. Tian
Loss of green colour in Granny Smith apples after 8 weeks storage was strongly temperature dependent with almost complete yellowing occurring at 15°C and 20°C and none at 0°C. Overwrapping fruit with PVC film created modified atmospheres (MA) and prevented yellowing at all temperatures. For fruit stored in a range of atmospheres at 20°C yellowing was correlated with oxygen concentrations over the range 4 to 20% O2. Using Braeburn apples the beneficial effects of MA packaging on green colour retention were maintained when CO2 and C2H4 were scrubbed from pack atmospheres. These results clearly indicated that it was the reduced O2 levels developed within the package which were responsible for the inhibition of yellowing achieved with MA packaging.
Hewett, E.W., Banks, N.H., Dixon, J., Percy, H.L. and Tian, M.S. (1989). SHELF LIFE EXTENSION OF APPLES WITH POLYMERIC FILMS. Acta Hortic. 258, 237-244
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.1989.258.26
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1989.258.26

Acta Horticulturae