Alteration of Fruit Quality Attributes and Cell Wall-Degrading Enzymatic Activities in Cluster Tomatoes After Combination Treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene and Modified Atmosphere Packaging During Cold Storage

Abstract

This study evaluates the combined effects of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on the quality of cluster-type tomato cultivars. Here, we analyze the physiological and biochemical alterations that affect fruit characteristics during cold storage, including knuckle detachment force, ethylene production rate, and cell wall-degrading enzymatic activity. The optimum concentration of 1-MCP fumigation treatment to regulate fruit ripening after harvest was 1 μL·L-1. During storage at 10°C, the fruit of the ‘Amoroso’ cultivar performed better than those of the ‘Campari’ and ‘Aranca’ cultivars in terms of ethylene production, soluble solids content (SSC), and pericarp tissue firmness. The combination treatment with 1-MCP and MAP reduced the SSC level and retained the pericarp tissue firmness and knuckle detachment force in ‘Amoroso’ fruit in cold storage. Polypropylene (PP) MAP treatment alone did not affect the response to ethylene pro- duction during cold storage as significantly as the treatment with both 1-MCP and PP MAP. However, treatment with both 1-MCP and PP MAP retained the knuckle detachment force and delayed the alteration of O2 and CO2 composition, in contrast to PP MAP treatment alone. In addition, the enzymatic activities of polygalacturonase and cellulase remained unchanged when treated with 1-MCP and PP MAP. Therefore, combined application of 1-MCP and PP MAP is highly effective for retaining fruit quality of cluster-type tomato cultivars during cold storage.