Modified atmosphere packaging and 1-methylcyclopropene alleviate chilling injury of ‘Youhou’ sweet persimmon during cold storage

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Highlights

  • 1-MCP and MAP+1-MCP treatments delayed and alleviated CI symptoms.

  • 1-MCP, and MAP+1-MCP treatments inhibited chilling-induced membrane damage.

  • 1-MCP, and MAP+1-MCP treatments suppressed PPO/POD activity.

  • MAP+1-MCP treatment markedly delayed proper solubilization of pectin.

  • 1-MCP, and MAP+1-MCP treatment remained flesh cell intact.

Abstract

‘Youhou’, one of the main varieties of sweet persimmon in China, produces fruit that softens easily after harvest. Low temperature can postpone the fruit-ripening process while causing chilling injury (CI) due to susceptibility to cold. In this study, we investigated the effects of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and combined modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) and 1-MCP treatments on the CI of ‘Youhou’ sweet persimmon during storage at 1 °C. Flesh browning and gelling were inhibited by 1-MCP treatment, as indicated by the suppression of polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase activities and enhanced pectin solubility. After treatment, the fruits maintained good membrane status and showed lower lipoxygenase activity, less electrolyte leakage and a lower malondialdehyde content than the control fruits. When MAP was added, dramatic changes in the oxygen and carbon dioxide proportions were detected in the packaging bag. This combined treatment was more effective than the 1-MCP treatment in alleviating CI.

Introduction

‘Youhou’ is one of the main sweet persimmon cultivars in China. This cultivar produces typical climacteric fruit that softens and browns easily. Therefore, the loss of fruit quality can be very serious during storage for this cultivar (Zhang, Rao, Sun, & Li, 2010). Low-temperature storage effectively inhibits the softening of postharvest sweet persimmon, but this fruit is sensitive to low temperature and is prone to chilling injury (CI) at 0−4 °C (Collins & Tisdell, 1995; Woolf et al., 1997). The symptoms of CI are obvious when fruit is transferred from low temperature to ambient temperature. The symptoms differ according to the fruit variety. CI symptoms of sweet persimmon mainly include peel and flesh browning and gelling (Besada, Llorca, Novillo, Hernando, & Salvador, 2015; Kim, Chung, Kim, DeJong, & Choi, 2002; Li, Han, Hu, Jin, & Rao, 2018). The loss of the commodity value of sweet persimmon adversely affects the industry.

1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) is an ethylene receptor inhibitor (Sisler & Serek, 1997) that inhibits the action of both endogenous and exogenous ethylene in plants. 1-MCP can inhibit postharvest fruit ripening caused by ethylene induction and can delay fruit senescence (Koukounaras & Sfakiotakis, 2007; Larrigaudière, Candan, Ubach, & Graell, 2009). In our previous studies, 1-MCP was found to suppress the CI of sweet persimmon (Li et al., 2018; Zhang et al., 2010).

Modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) is a method of storage that mainly relies on fruit respiratory activity to form a gas environment with high carbon dioxide (CO2) and low oxygen (O2) concentrations in the package. By inhibiting respiration and reducing mechanical damage and water stress, the storage period can be prolonged (Anurag, Manjunatha, Jha, & Kumari, 2016; Cheng et al., 2015; Khan, Sripethdee, Chinsirikul, Sane, & Chonhenchob, 2016; Pinela et al., 2016). The stable gas environment in MAP depends on many factors, such as package thickness, surface area, fruit respiration intensity, fruit quality and storage conditions (Altieri, Genovese, Matera, Tauriello, & Di Renzo, 2018; Caleb, Mahajan, Al-Said, & Opara, 2013; Ochoa-Velasco & Guerrero-Beltran, 2016). MAP can delay fruit ripening and maintain fruit quality (Wang & Sugar, 2013). It can also delay cell wall decomposition, maintain cell membrane integrity, inhibit fruit browning, and reduce cold damage during storage (Akbudak & Eris, 2004; Barbosa, Alves, Rocha, & Oliveira, 2016; Oliveira et al., 2015).

At present, there is no effective technology to inhibit the CI of ‘Youhou’ sweet persimmon during production. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop simple and low energy technology to protect sweet persimmon during cold storage and to apply this technology in production practices. Our previous study indicated that a 1.0 μL L−1 1-MCP treatment alleviated the CI of ‘Youhou’ fruit, but there were still obvious CI symptoms in the late storage period. Here, to implement MAP, we sealed fruits in polyethylene (PE) packages with a 0.05 mm thickness (screened based on our pretests). The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of 1-MCP treatment and treatment with a combination of MAP and 1-MCP on the CI of sweet persimmon during storage at 1 °C.

Section snippets

Fruit harvest and selection

Sweet persimmon (Diospyros kaki L. cv. Youhou) fruits were harvested on October 13rd, 2017, from an orchard with a suitable growing environment in Fuping, Shaanxi Province, China (34°47’N, 109°2’E). The picked fruits were immediately transported to the postharvest physiology laboratory at Northwest A&F University, and fruits with similar sizes and maturities and without disease, insect pests or mechanical injury were chosen.

Chemical and packaging treatments

Fruits were randomly divided into three groups: control, 1-MCP

CO2 and O2 concentrations

Our results indicated that MAP effectively regulated the concentrations of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the packaging bags. The oxygen content decreased and the carbon dioxide content increased sharply in the bags of the MAP-treated group compared with the non-MAP-treated group, resulting in apparent changes in gas composition (Fig. 1A, B). The CO2 concentration in the MAP-treated group increased from 0.03%–5.04 % in the first 7 days and then reached 6.96 % after 35 days of storage. The O2

Conclusion

In summary, 1-MCP treatment and MAP+1-MCP compound treatment delayed post-ripening and inhibited the development of CI in sweet persimmon. An interaction effect of MAP and 1-MCP was observed compared with 1-MCP treatment itself. When we focus on the mechanism by which two approaches delay ripening. It suggests that 1-MCP delays the entire ripening process by binding irreversibly to ethylene receptors and thus maintains fruit in a relatively immature and low-energy consumption state (Li et al.,

Declaration of Competing Interest

All authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program (2016YFD0400102) during the 13th Five-year Plan Period of China.

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    These two authors contributed equally to this work.

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