Simple and Effective Characterization of Fuji Apple Flavor Quality by Ethylene and Sugar Content

Apple flavor quality is vital for fruit assessment and the competitiveness. Complex apple flavor constitution is normally determined by complicated detection methods, which make simple, fast, and effective quality determination a challenge. In this study, the representative Fuji apples (Malus x domestica Borkh.) from Xinjiang and Shandong regions in China were selected to establish a simple and effective method for flavor assessment. Appearance, soluble solid content (SSC), and ethylene release changes of the fruits were monitored. During 65 days of storage, SSC, representing sugar content, kept stable as storage became longer, while the ethylene release exhibited dynamic changes with a peak and a reflection point, which reflected the physiological information of fruit. Moreover, ethylene could also reflect the aroma condition of the fruit in previous study. Therefore, SSC, together with ethylene, can stand for the flavor quality characteristics of apple fruits. Especially, both of them can be obtained independently by rapid nondestructive technologies, providing a new sight and strategy for the simple and effective flavor quality detection of Fuji apples.