Postharvest Quality and Sensory Characteristics of ‘Granny Smith’ Apple Treated with SmartFresh™ (1-MCP)

Apple fruit of cv ‘Granny Smith’ was treated with 0.625 ?l/L SmartFresh™ (1-MCP) and stored in NA (90% RH, 1 ?C) for 16 weeks. Aft er storage, fruits were left for four days at room temperature to simulate market display period (SMP) before analysis. Fruit treated with 1-MCP retained fi rmness on values very similar to harvest, while control fruit had signifi cantly lower values. No signifi cant diff erences were observed in the amount of soluble solid concentration (SSC), titratable acidity (TA) and maturity index (SSC/TA). Fruit colour was signifi cantly aff ected with SmartFresh™ (1-MCP treatment). Aft er storage, b value and Chroma were signifi cantly lower in SmartFresh™ (1-MCP) treated fruit. Aft er SMP, signifi cance of diff erences in b and Chroma values increased to as high as P?0.001 and diff erences in L and Hue values became signifi cant. Colour differences (?Eab and ?Hab) between storage and SMP were not signifi cant, but diff erence in L value (?L) was signifi cantly higher in control fruit. Control fruit had scald index of 2.27, while SmartFresh™ (1-MCP) treated fruit had scald index of only 0.27. Female panelist scores showed the lower quality of control sample in all characteristics, except aroma, while male panelists noticed diff erence only in colour. Th e results showed that SmartFresh™ (1-MCP) treatment signifi cantly aff ects fruit quality of apple cv. ‘Granny Smith’. Subtle changes in sensory characteristics caused by this treatment are more easily recognized by female panelists.