An insight into the role of fruit maturity at harvest on superficial scald development in 'Beurré d'anjou' pear.

CALVO, GABRIELA; CANDAN, MARÍA PAULA; CIVELLO, MARCOS; GINÉ-BORDONABA, JORDI; LARRIGAUDIÈRE, CHRISTIAN

SCIENTIA HORTICULTURAE

ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2015 vol. 192 p. 173 - 179

0304-4238

To assess the influence of the fruit maturity at harvest on superficialscald incidence, "Beurré D´Anjou" pears were harvested on January 24 (H1 );February 7 (H2) and February 21 (H3). Ethylene production, alfa-farnesene (AF),conjugated trienols (CTols) content and total antioxidant capacity (DPPH) weredetermined at harvest and during storage and further related to superficial scald (SS) development. Early picked fruit (H1 ) had significantly lower scaldincidence than H2 or H3. The difference in scald sensitivity between harvestswas associated to the capacity of the fruit to produce ethylene and to theaccumulation pattern of AF and CTols, which in turn was not exclusivelyethylene-dependent. Collectively the results presented herein showed that the relationship between scald and maturity in "Beurré D´Anjou" pears may be opposite to that observed in apples. Changes in the fruit antioxidant capacity during storage rather than the initial antioxidant potential at harvest should be considered to fully understand the biochemical basis of superficial scald in "Beurré D´Anjou" pears.