Pre-storage temperature conditioning reduces cortex browning and cavity and alters organic, amino, and fatty acid metabolism in cold-stored ‘Chuhwangbae’ pears

• Published in: Scientia horticulturae 2023-05, Vol.315, p.111989, Article 111989
• Main Authors: Lwin, Hnin Phyu, Leisso, Rachel S., Lee, Jinwook
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Amino acid; Asian pear; Fatty acid; Organic acid; Physiological disorder; Soluble carbohydrate
• ISSN: 0304-4238
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2023.111989

•Pear fruit were held at 22 °C for 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks to evaluate the capacity for pre-storage “ambient temperature” conditioning to reduce postharvest disorders.•Pre-storage ambient temperature conditioning of approximately 1 week at 22 °C was the optimal duration of those evaluated and was sufficient to reduce internal disorders satisfactorily; increasing conditioning duration only increased shrivelling, with no added benefit to disorder reduction.•Ambient temperature conditioning reduced cortex browning and cavity concurrent with decreasing sorbitol, fumaric acid, and oleic acid.•Ambient temperature conditioning increased weight loss and cortex hue angle.•Ambient temperature conditioning increased methionine, glutamine, and proline but decreased phenylalanine, isoleucine, and valine. ‘Chuhwangbae’ pears are susceptible to internal disorders thought to be related to abiotic physiological chilling stress during cold storage. For this cultivar, pre-storage warm temperature conditioning (e.g. gradual or step-down of fruit temperatures) after harvest is highly recommended to control the development of postharvest storage disorders during cold storage. This pre-storage temperature conditioning at relatively warm temperatures relative to final storage temperature is also called “ambient temperature” conditioning by fruit packinghouse personnel. This study evaluated the influence of pre-storage ambient temperature conditioning duration (holding fruit at 22 °C) on ‘Chuhwangbae’ pear fruit quality including the incidence of physiological disorders and metabolic responses related to these disorders during cold storage. Postharvest pre-storage temperature conditioning (1, 2, 3, or 4 weeks at 22 °C) reduced cortex lightness and flesh firmness, and increased fruit weight loss and shrivelling during cold storage. The incidence and severity of cortex browning and cavity were reduced by pre-storage temperature conditioning. Pre-storage temperature conditioning reduced glucose, sorbitol, and fumaric acid contents after cold storage. Phenylalanine, isoleucine, and valine contents decreased with pre-storage temperature conditioning, but methionine, glutamine, and proline contents were higher in conditioned fruit than in unconditioned fruit. In addition, oleic acid content and the ratio of unsaturated fatty acid to saturated fatty acid were reduced by pre-storage temperature conditioning during cold storage. Results indicate that pre-storage temperature conditioning red