An attempt was made to observe the effect of pre-harvest bagging with spun-bound fabric bags on color and quality of Delicious apple. Bagging was done about a month before harvesting and removed 3-day before harvesting. Bagged and non-bagged fruits were stored at 2℃ ± 1℃ and 90%-95% RH. Observations were recorded on color and fruit quality attributes such as total phenolics, AOX activity, fruit Ca contents, LOX activity, SSC and ascorbic acid contents at harvest and during storage. Our studies have revealed that bagged fruits have better color development (Hunter “a” = 52) than non-bagged fruits at harvest (Hunter “a” = 38), which declined slightly during storage. Similarly, at harvest, bagged fruits contained high amounts of Ca (5.38 mg/100g) and total phenolics (9.3 mg GAE/100gpulp) exhibited higher AOX activity (12.6 μmoles Trolox g^-1), and had better SSC and ascorbic acid contents than non-bagged fruits, and there was a decline in all recorded parameters during storage. Bagged fruits exhibited lower LOX activity (1.38 μmoles min^{-1 g-1} FW) at harvest than non-bagged fruits (2.14 μmoles min^{-1 g-1} FW), indicating that non-bagged fruits were more senescent than bagged fruits. Further, LOX activity increased during storage both in bagged and non-bagged apples but increase in LOX activity was slower in bagged apples than in non-bagged apples.

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Ethylene absorbents influence fruit firmness and activity of enzymes involved in fruit softening of Japanese plum (Prunus salicina Lindell) cv. Santa Rosa.Abstract -Introduction. Plum cv. Santa Rosa shows climacteric behaviour and grows profitably under sub-temperate conditions in India. After ripening, it has a very limited shelf life (3-4 days) in ambient conditions [(38 ± 2)°C and at (68 ± 4)% RH]. Hence, there is an urgent need to extend its marketability using recent techniques. Materials and methods. Plums were harvested at the pre-climacteric and climacteric stages of maturity and packed with newspaper shreds (control), KMnO 4 -impregnated chalks, KMnO 4 -impregnated newspaper shreds or ethylene-absorbent sachets; then they were transported by road to New Delhi. The biochemical and physiological analyses were carried out at 3-day intervals on plums stored in supermarket conditions [(20 ± 1)°C and at (90 ± 2)% RH] for 15 days. Results and discussion. Untreated fruits had less firmness than those which were packed with ethylene absorbents. The activities of fruit-softening enzymes such as lipoxygenase (LOX), polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME) increased rapidly in the control treatment in comparison with plums packed with various ethylene absorbents, the least being either with ethyleneabsorbent sachets or with KMnO 4 -impregnated newspaper shreds. Plums of pre-climacteric and climacteric maturity attained respiration and ethylene evolution peaks on the 9th day and 6th day, respectively. Conclusions. The plums of pre-climacteric and climacteric stages of maturity packed with ethylene-absorbent sachets showed the best results in supermarket conditions in maintaining the firmness, quality and shelf life of plum up to the 12th day and 9th day of storage, respectively. Les activités des enzymes de ramollissement des fruits comme la lipoxygénase (LOX), la polygalacturonase (PG) et la pectine méthylestérase (PME) ont augmenté rapidement dans les fruits témoins par rapport à ceux qui avaient été emballés avec les différents matériaux absorbeurs d'éthylène, ces activités étant moindres pour les prunes emballées soit avec les sachets d'absorbeurs d'éthylène, soit avec des lanières de journaux imprégnées de KMnO 4 . Les prunes aux stades de maturité pré-climatérique et climatérique ont atteint leurs pics de respiration et d'évolution de l'éthylène le 9e jour et 6e jour, respectivement. Conclusion. Les prunes japonaises récoltées à des stades de maturité pré-climatérique et climatérique, emballées en présence de sachets absorbeurs d'éthylène et stockées en conditions de supermarchés, ont donné les meilleurs résultats pour le maintien de la fermeté, de la qualité et de la durée de vie des fruits jusqu'au 12 e jour et 9 e jour de stockage, respectivement. India /

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