RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR FRUIT GROWING PITE S TI - MARACINENI First Balkan Symposium on Fruit Growing November, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, 2007

Relationship between shelf life health and quality of apple fruit Viorica Chitu*, Emil Chitu*, Silvia Petrescu*, Aura Ionita**, Marina Cirjaliu-Murgea**, L. Filipescu** *Research Institute for Fruit Growing Pitesti **Faculty of Industrial Chemistry, University “Politehnica” of Bucharest

INTRODUCTION The storage conditions obviously influence the fruit quality. If the fruit are stored under unifit temperature and humidity, the fruit may undergo a decay processes, due to enhancing of respiration and this leading to storage diseases (George Chu., 1993, Jonston J. W., 2002). Apple physiological disorder naturally developed during he storage can reduce the high quality fraction available for the fresh market. The severity of the disorder is influenced by apple cultivar, growing season, cultural practice, harvest maturity and postharvest conditions (Lotze E. et al., 2007, Pham T. V. et al., 2007, G.M. Hyde, 2001, Glen G..M., 1990, Sams E.C., 1990)

MATERIAL AND METHODS To evaluate the behavior of apples during their storage period, apple samples (Jonathan cv.) were harvested at the ripening time. The fruit average sample included apples picked from the tip, bottom and the middle of the crown was made up by 90 apples ( ). There were recorded: average weight, firmness on the 2 diameters pH and juice dry matter.Temperature and air relative humidity were hold at 4 ºC and respectively 75% during the storage. The measurements were performed as follows: 1 day on freshly picked up fruits and on storage fruits after 90 days and 180 days after harvesting. Juice dry matter and pH measurements were made by accurate digital devices and manual penettrometer was used to assess the fruit firmness. The storage diseases and their physiological cause which led to the fruit damage were visually observed. This was done on a plot of 100 fruits.

RESULTS Variation of some fruit qualitative indicators (Jonathan cv.) under cool storing conditions

Matrix of linear correlations between sone indicators of fruit quality (Jonathan cv.)

Correlation intensity between fruit firmness and their weight at various storing moments

Correlation intensity between fruit acidity and their weight at various storing moments

Correlation intensity between fruit dry matter and fruit firmness at various storing moments

Correlation intensity between fruit dry matter and mean weight at various storing moments

Correlation intensity between fruit flesh pH and fruit firmness at various storing moments

Correlation intensity between fruit dry matter and fruit flesh pH at various storing moments

Evaluation of storage diseases (Jonathan cv.) 90 days 180 days

Evaluation of physiological disorders after 90 days of storage (Jonathan cv.) T1 – Calcium chloride treatments (4 x 1% in growth periode) T2 - Calcium chloride treatments (3 x 1% at harvest day)

Evaluation of physiological disorders after 180 days of storage (Jonathan cv.) T2 - Calcium chloride treatments (3 x 1% at harvest day) T1 – Calcium chloride treatments (4 x 1% in growth periode)

CONCLUSION The observations performed over 3 various moments of storage showed that the most important indicator for the fruit quality during any storage period was the firmness. It was found a negative significant correlation between fruit firmness and fruit weight only for 1 and 180 days of storage. We didn’t find any significant correlation between juice dry matter and fruit weight for each moment of determination (1, 90 and 180 days) but it was a positive significant correlation for the entire storage time. The most intense positive correlation for the entire period of storage was between dry matter in fruit juice and firmness. Because the correlation appears only at 180 days storage, it may be considered that between days all the change in fruit quality are taking place. Treatment with calcium chloride at harvest day reduce the physiological disorders (Bitter pit, Brown core and Fruit softening). During the storage periods (90 and 180 days) the recorded diseases inducing the fruits damage were Penicillium sp., Alternaria sp., Monillia sp. and Botrytis.

Thank you for your attention ! Acknowledgment The work was carried out with the financial support of CNCIS, Program Idei, project 1035/2007.