Effects of Preharvest Aminoethoxyvinylglycine and Pre- or Postharvest 1-Methylcyclopropene Treatments on Fruit Quality Attributes during Cold Storage in 'Misshong' Peaches

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of preharvest aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG, ReTain (R)) and sprayable 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP, Harvista (TM)) and postharvest 1-MCP (SmartFresh (TM)) treatments on fruit quality in cold-stored 'Misshong' peaches. Flesh firmness of control fruits was decreased to 2.9 Newton (N) after 3 days of storage. However, a week before harvest (WBH) ReTain (R) and SmartFresh (TM) treatments maintained firmness at 7.9 N and 12.0 N for up to 6 days of storage, respectively. Titratable acidity of control fruits was decreased from 0.33% at harvest to 0.21% after 12 days of storage. However, ReTain (R) and SmartFresh (TM) treatments maintained acidity at 0.26 and 0.30% until 12 days of storage, respectively. Ethylene production of control fruits was highly increased to 45.4 mu L.kg(-1).h(-1) after 12 days of storage, while at 1 WBH ReTain (R) (23.9 mu L.kg(-1).h(-1)) and SmartFresh (TM) (21.6 mu L.kg(-1).h(-1)) treatments resulted in lower ethylene production than control fruits. Soluble solids content of 1 WBH ReTain (R) (10.5 degrees Brix) was slightly lower than control fruits (11.0 degrees Brix) at harvest, and fruit weight loss was not affected during the storage progress. Therefore, this study suggested that 1 WBH ReTain (R) and SmartFresh (TM) treatments help maintain fruit quality in 'Misshong' peaches during cold storage.