Effects of preharvest aminoethoxyvinylglycine and pre-or postharvest 1-methylcyclopropene treatments on fruit quality attributes during cold storage in ‘misshong’ peaches

This study was carried out to investigate the effects of preharvest aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG, ReTain^Ⓡ) and sprayable 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP, Harvista™) and postharvest 1-MCP (Smart-Fresh™) treatments on fruit quality in cold-stored ‘Misshong’ peaches. Flesh firmness of control fruits was decreased to 2.9 Newton (N) after 3 days of storage. However, a week before harvest (WBH) ReTain^Ⓡ and SmartFresh™ treatments maintained firmness at 7.9 N and 12.0 N for up to 6 days of storage, respectively. Titratable acidity of control fruits was decreased from 0.33% at harvest to 0.21% after 12 days of storage. However, ReTain^Ⓡ and SmartFresh™ treatments maintained acidity at 0.26 and 0.30% until 12 days of storage, respectively. Ethylene production of control fruits was highly increased to 45.4 µL·kg^-1·h^-1 after 12 days of storage, while at 1 WBH ReTain^Ⓡ (23.9 µL·kg^-1·h^-1) and SmartFresh™ (21.6 µL·kg^-1·h^-1) treatments resulted in lower ethylene production than control fruits. Soluble solids content of 1 WBH ReTain^Ⓡ (10.5°Brix) was slightly lower than control fruits (11.0°Brix) at harvest, and fruit weight loss was not affected during the storage progress. Therefore, this study suggested that 1 WBH ReTain^Ⓡ and SmartFresh™ treatments help maintain fruit quality in ‘Misshong’ peaches during cold storage.