Abstract:

“Fuji” and “Golden Delicious” apples were used to investigate the effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP)
treatment on fruit quality during a short-term storage at room temperature. The results showed that, 1 μL/L 1-MCP treatment
had no significant influences on weight loss ratio, firmness and soluble solid content in both apple cultivars. However,
the titratable acid contents in treated fruits were significantly higher than those of control after 7 days of storage. 1-MCP
treatment retarded the increase in the pH value of “Fuji” apples after 14 days, while for “Golden Delicious” apples, the delay
occurred after 7 days. 1-MCP treatment had no significant effect on vitamin C (VC) content in “Fuji” apples, but for “Golden
Delicious” apples VC contents were significantly higher in 1-MCP treated apples than in the control ones. These results
indicated that 1-MCP treatment had different effects on the fruit quality of different apple varieties.

Key words: 1-methylcyclopropene, apple, room temperature storage, postharvest quality