Combined Treatments Reduce Chilling Injury and Maintain Fruit Quality in Avocado Fruit during Cold Quarantine.
Quarantine treatment enables export of avocado fruit (Persea americana) to parts of the world that enforce quarantine against fruit fly. The recommended cold-based quarantine treatment (storage at 1.1°C for 14 days) was studied with two commercial avocado cultivars 'Hass' and 'Ettinger' for 2 years. Chilling injuries (CIs) are prevalent in the avocado fruit after cold-quarantine treatment. Hence, we examined the effect of integrating several treatments: modified atmosphere (MA; fruit covered with perforated polyethylene bags), methyl jasmonate (MJ; fruit dipped in 2.5 μM MJ for Hass or 10 μM MJ for Ettinger for 30 s), 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP; fruit treated with 300 ppb 1-MCP for 18 h) and low-temperature conditioning (LTC; a gradual decrease in temperature over 3 days) on CI reduction during cold quarantine. Avocado fruit stored at 1°C suffered from severe CI, lipid peroxidation, and increased expression of chilling-responsive genes of fruit peel. The combined therapeutic treatments alleviated CI in cold-quarantined fruit to the level in fruit stored at commercial temperature (5°C). A successful therapeutic treatment was developed to protect 'Hass' and 'Ettinger' avocado fruit during cold quarantine against fruit fly, while maintaining fruit quality. Subsequently, treated fruit stored at 1°C had a longer shelf life and less decay than the fruit stored at 5°C. This therapeutic treatment could potentially enable the export of avocado fruit to all quarantine-enforcing countries. Similar methods might be applicable to other types of fruit that require cold quarantine.
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel.
Velu
V
Sivankalyani
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel.
Oleg
O
Feygenberg
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel.
Dalia
D
Maorer
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel; Robert H Smith, Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Rehovot, Israel.
Merav
M
Zaaroor
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel.
Elazar
E
Fallik
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Volcani Center, Agricultural Research Organization, Bet Dagan, Israel.
Noam
N
Alkan
D000085:Acetates / Q000494:pharmacology; D003080:Cold Temperature / Q000009:adverse effects; D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000494:pharmacology; D063427:Food Quality; D061353:Food Storage / Q000379:methods*; D005638:Fruit / Q000187:drug effects / Q000592:standards*; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000494:pharmacology; D027421:Persea / Q000187:drug effects
D000085:Acetates; D003517:Cyclopentanes; D054883:Oxylipins; C072239:methyl jasmonate