Ripening delay caused by 1-MCP may increase tomato chilling sensitivity

Abstract

The export of New Zealand tomatoes is restricted to Australia and Pacific Island nations and constrained by the cost and shortage of airfreight space. The industry does not have a consistent commercial solution to enable sea freight to the Asian market. A potent inhibitor of ethylene response, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) has emerged as a tool for controlling ripening and extending the shelf life of many fresh products. Knowledge of 1-MCP effects on cool-stored fresh tomatoes is limited. In the present study, mature-green and breaker tomatoes treated with 1-MCP were stored at 2.5°C for 5 weeks. At this temperature, 1-MCP treatment enhanced Alternaria decay severity (from latent infections) and resulted in softer fruit than non-treated controls, whereas 1-MCP reduced decay from 'ripe rots' when fruit were ripened at 20°C. These results suggest that the ripening delay induced by 1-MCP may increase tomato chilling sensitivity during cool storage. While 1-MCP shows promising results in extending postharvest storage life in many crops, including tomatoes, these results indicated that application of 1-MCP before cool storage is not appropriate for assisting commercial sea freight of tomatoes. Nonetheless, it may be possible to apply 1-MCP and then store tomatoes above the temperatures that cause chilling injury in order to extend storage life.

Effect of Ethylene on Cell Wall and Lipid Metabolism during Alleviation of Postharvest Chilling Injury in Peach

“…CI symptoms of some fruits, such as banana [21], papaya, [22] and pear [23] can be alleviated by exogenous ethylene. Similarly, increased CI of tomato fruit was observed following application of ethylene response inhibitor 1-MCP [24]. However, in peach fruit, the effect of ethylene on CI appears to be in dispute.…”

Effect of 1-methylcyclopropene on the development of black mold disease and its potential effect on alternariol and alternariol monomethyl ether biosynthesis on tomatoes infected with Alternaria alternata

“…Since 1-MCP treatments induce beneficial effects in fruit quality, such as delays in physicochemical changes related to ripening, as well as a reduction in decay, and thereby extend the storage life of both climacteric and non-climacteric fruit, 1-MCP is a useful tool for extending the shelf-life and quality of several food products (Blankenship and Dole, 2003;Watkins, 2006). Nevertheless, although 1-MCP advantages justify its application on food products, it has to be taken into account that 1-MCP commercial use in postharvest treatments has been claimed to increase decay development due to enhanced susceptibility against external stresses such as low temperatures and pathogen infections in some fruits (Biswas et al, 2014(Biswas et al, D az et al, 2002Janisiewicz et al, 2003;Jiang et al, 2001;Ku et al, 1999). Since the discovery of 1-MCP most of studies have been focused to investigate its way of action and the effects on physiological and biochemical parameters of fruits.…”

“…Effect of 1-MCP could be different depending on when 1-MCP is applied and at which temperature fruits are stored. Biswas et al (2014) determined the effect of 1-MCP application prior to cold storage with the aim of extending shelf-life of tomatoes.…”

“…It has to bear in mind that some of the symptoms of chilling injury is the damaging of the skin, loss of firmness and pitting of the surface which may favor fruit decay and consequently facilitate fungal penetration (Efiuvwevwere and Thorne, 1988). Biswas et al (2014) suggested to use 1-MCP to slow down tomato ripening but holding the fruit at above chilling temperature (9 to 12 °C) for long-term storage. Results from the present study are mostly in agreement with Biswas et al (2014), as during the storage under cold conditions (10 ºC) in two out of the three varieties analyzed (Caniles and Palladium) no significant differences were observed regarding pathogen growth between treated and untreated samples.…”

“…In this sense, it has been described that ethylene, besides being an essential modulator of several aspects of plant life and fruit ripening, also plays a major role in regulating plant defense responses against abiotic and biotic stresses, such as pathogen attacks (Broekaert et al, 2006;Lund et al, 1998). The 1-MCP has been described to have different effects on pathogens affecting several fruits such as natural pathogens infecting strawberries (Jiang et al, 2001;Ku et al, 1999), Colletotrichum acutatum and Penicillium expansum affecting apples (Janisiewicz et al, 2003) or Botrytis cinerea on pear fruit (Akagi and Stotz, 2007), among others (Biswas et al, 2014;Jing and Zi-sheng, 2011;Mullins et al, 2000;Porat et al, 1999;Su and Gubler, 2012;Zhou et al, 2006). A study on the effect of 1-MCP on the black spot disease, which is usually produced by Alternaria spp., found that 1-MCP stimulated the disease in Japanese pear (Itai et al, 2012).…”