Pre- and Postharvest 1-MCP Technology for Apples Dr. Jennifer DeEll Fresh Market Quality Program Lead OMAFRA, Simcoe, Ontario, CANADA Specific topics Definitions SmartFresh SM vs. TM SmartFresh and disorders, especially external CO injury SmartFresh on Honeycrisp applications, McIntosh and Honeycrisp 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) Inhibits ethylene action, delays fruit ripening SmartFresh SM Volatile form Postharvest application within an air-tight environment Used commercially worldwide TM Orchard spray for tree fruit, within weeks of harvest Not registered in Canada yet Used commercially in WA this season SmartFresh SM Reduces senescence related disorders i.e. senescent breakdown Increases stress-related related disorders i.e. external CO injury, flesh browning External CO Injury Rough brown or bronze lesions on the skin, often partly sunken, with well-defined edges More common on non-blush areas Injury usually occurs early in CA storage Susceptibility increases with SmartFresh (1-MCP) treatment rapid establishment of CO levels before apples are cooled low O concentrations (with similar O levels) poor ventilation free moisture on the skin immature fruit ReTain application 1999-000 Québec McIntosh Standard CA storage for. or months External CO Injury 1-MCP 1 0. 0.1 ppm. mo 0 36 8% mo 0 3 % 1
Preharvest application of ReTain further promotes CO injury Recommendation Recommendation Incidence (%) of CO injury in Empire Empire after and 8 months in CA storage (.% O, % CO) at oc For cultivars susceptible to CO injury e.g. McIntosh, Empire, Cortland Treat with DPA if using SmartFresh (00 ppm ok, Watkins) - ReTain + ReTain 9 3 30 0 Cool fruit before SmartFresh and CA If no DPA, keep CO low (<0.%) for the first 60 days 1-MCP then gradually increase to standard concentration Beware of CO accumulation during room loading (1 hr = 0.8%, overnight =.%) (0.6 ppm) Flesh Browning in Empire Empire Flesh Browning Effect of 1-MCP and growing region Orchard 1 3 6 7 HV 8 73 66 83 67 71 8 7 68 8 36 63 71 WNY 7 79 76 9 6 9 8 ON 67 83 69 86 37 69 Empire and McIntosh are very susceptible higher incidence in later harvested apples (from the same orchard block) higher incidence at lower storage temperatures Variation in flesh browning exists between different orchards in the same region Overall, little variation between the three regions 1-MCP treated fruit consistently have a higher incidence of flesh browning little effect of DPA, CA regimes, or fruit mineral concentrations Orchard-to-orchard variation Tree-to-tree variation (crop load related?) CA: % O, % CO - 10 months WNY: 10/0 HV: 10/03 Ontario: 10/03 Watkins, 008 Major Disorders in Honeycrisp Honeycrisp SmartFresh on Honeycrisp Honeycrisp Soft Scald Soggy Breakdown reduces ethylene and greasiness, but has little effect on firmness (~0. lb) improves acidity retention and soluble solids can increase internal disorders, but effect negated with cooling delay Higher incidence - large apples - light crops - over mature fruit - dull, cool, wet summers - low temperatures little effect on soft scald incidence Soft, brown, spongy tissue Causes similar to those for soft scald
CA Storage at 3 o C, plus 7 days at 1 o C (~ % O + % CO ) Soft Internal IEC Firm SSC Acidity Greasiness scald disorders (ppm) (lb) (%) (mg malic) (1-3) (%) (%) 100 1. 1. 369 3.0 68 + SmFr 1.1 13. 03 1.0 9 38 * No cooling delay TM 1-MCP spray formulation for tree fruit (AgroFresh Inc.) Applied preharvest, within weeks Often do not see an effect on quality at optimum harvest Less IEC and firmer fruit during late harvests Effects not always the same as SmartFresh after storage Success depends on many factors, i.e. spray timing, coverage and concentration, cultivar, maturity at harvest, storage conditions and duration, etc. McIntosh 006 # Drops McIntosh 006 Sept. th 1 th 19 th 6 th 9 111 37 3 0 3 6 ReTain 1 9 00 391 (Note harvests 1 & 3, and & from the same trees) reduced excessive ripening and decay development in the drops Commercial Spray Trial - 008 McIntosh apples Commercial Spray Trial - 008 Sprayed on Sept. nd 8 trees harvested each time ¼ - ½ bins total each time Maturity delayed with Harvest Date Treatment % Fancy + (> 30% red) % C-Grade (<30% red) Total Fruit # Sept. 9 th 66. 33. 601 Sept.17 th 78. 1.6 793 Sept. 17 th 83. 16. 13 Sept. 9 th 97.3.7 1 - H1 (top), H (bottom) Sept. 9 Sept.17 H1 (top), H (bottom) Sept. 17 Sept.9 3
1 10 8 6 0 0 1 10 0 16 16 198 17 17 163 10 10 138 1 1 100 113 100 7 8 6 8 H1 H1 H H Size Count Distribution (% of fruit per category) Harvest 1 Harvest Commercial Spray Trial - 009 McIntosh (commercial harvest 9 days after spray) 3 months in air storage at 0 o C, plus 1 or 7 days at 1 o C 9 b 9.7 de 70 e Spray 38 c 10. d 738 d SmFr 9 d 13. b 838 a Spray + SmFr 13 d 1. a b 697 a 8.9 f 60 f Spray 709 a 9.3 ef 738 d SmFr d 1.3 c 771 c Spray + SmFr d 13. b - 6 months in CA storage at 3 o C, plus 1 or 7 days at 1 o C 3 cd 1.7 d 671 c Spray 7 cd 13.9 ab - SmFr 1 d 13.7 bc 637 d Spray + SmFr 1 d 1. a 771 a 96 a 9.8 e 60 e Spray 3 a 10. e 671 c SmFr 11 c 13. cd 637 d Spray + SmFr 36 b 13. c 70 b 9 months in CA storage at 3 o C, plus 1 or 7 days at 1 o C 03 c 11. c 70 b Spray 160 c 13.8 b 70 b SmFr 7 d 13.6 b 70 b Spray + SmFr 17 d 1.7 a 60 a 1119 b 9.0 e 69 d Spray 138 a 8.9 e 36 c SmFr 3 c 9.7 d 36 c Spray + SmFr 1096 b 9.3 de 70 b on Honeycrisp little effect on firmness (~0. lb) less effect on greasiness than SmartFresh improves acidity retention and soluble solids internal disorders not increased like with SmartFresh, and soggy breakdown is often reduced lower soft scald incidence** on Honeycrisp HortScience, March 010 Year 1 = No cooling delay, months in air storage at 3 o C Average: 17% vs. <1% soft scald with Year = No cooling delay, 6 months in air storage at 3 o C Late harvest: 6% vs. 8 or % soft scald sprayed 11 or 1 days before harvest, respectively Past storage season No cooling delay, 6 months in air storage at 0 o C Investigated effect of 1-MCP concentration because of new 60 g/ acre commercial rate
on Honeycrisp 009 Harvest, 6 months of storage in air at 0 o C Incidence of soft scald (%) No spray 3 day 10 g 6 day 60 g 13 8 day 10 g 8 day 60 g 1 Spray or 8 days prior to Harvest No cooling delay Application of Earlier trials used CO -based back-pack sprayer Later trials used tractor-drawn commercial sprayer Past season investigated aerial application Application using a helicopter 1 st trial in the Northeast Commercial McIntosh orchard Compared to tractor-drawn sprayer Helicopter compared to tractor? Similar fruit maturity Similar range of ethylene Similar fruit drop control Apples are currently in storage Bottom line = aerial application was less troublesome than originally anticipated Acknowledgements AgroFresh Inc. Ontario Apple Growers Apple Marketers Association of Ontario Norfolk Fruit Growers Association Lingwood Farms Canadian Horticultural Council Thank You!