The firmness of the flesh in 27 apple (Malus ×domestica Borkh.) cultivars and selections (genotypes) was measured as an indicator of storage potential at 20 days after harvest under 20 ± 2 °C, 80% ± 5%relative humidity storage conditions. Softening ranged from 9% to 58% of initial values among genotypes after 20 days of storage. In some genotypes, softening was not continuous, a minimum firmness being reached before day 20. After a period of rapid softening, firmness declined to at least 20% of that at harvest. For each genotype, linear regression analysis of firmness changes from harvest until when firmness decreased by 20% was carried out. In genotypes in which firmness did not drop >20% within 20 days of storage, the entire dates to 20 days were used for analysis. The homogeneity of the regression residual variances and their normal distribution was not rejected at P = 0.05, and the linear regression analysis was assumed to be applicable to the change in firmness for each genotype. Results of the regression analysis showed that the regression was significant for all genotypes except one. Therefore, storage potential could be evaluated by comparing the regression coefficient of each genotype.
Environmental variance components associated with year, tree, and harvest date were estimated for fruit softening after harvest in apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.) to determine their relative importance and design optimum sampling strategies to discriminate genotypes in apple breeding. Fruit were stored after harvest under 20 ± 2 • C and 80 ± 5%RH. Softening was evaluated by adapting the change in firmness during storage to a linear regression and defining the regression coefficient as the softening rate. Environmental variances associated with genotype × year interaction, among trees, year × tree interaction, and among harvest dates were all very small, namely, 2.7, 0.1, 5.2, and 5.7%, respectively, to the total variance obtained from the analysis of variance for the softening rate. The variance associated with genotype, at 57.3%, was very large. On the basis of the number of fruit necessary for firmness measurements, two times harvest is an efficient strategy to determine a genotype mean for the softening.
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