Physiological changes in apple fruit in response to physical damage received during post-harvest handling practices

Abstract (in English)

The apple fruit quality features decrease during improper harvesting and post-harvest handling practices. The apple fruits primarily undergo mechanical damages, like bruised impact, and compression forces. Besides increasing the production level, care and optimization during harvesting and post-harvest operations are necessary for preserving the quality and maintaining the storage life. Therefore, this work aims to observe the physiological changes in apple fruit caused by physical damage and compression during post-harvest operations. The experiment comprised five treatments of a combination of fruits dropped before storage and compressed during storage. In apple fruits, the bruising led to elevated ethylene production levels (1.65-19.81 nL ethylene g^-1 h^-1), which induced respiration rates and weight loss. Enhanced ethylene was observed particularly in dropped and laterally compressed fruits. The firmness levels, however gradually declined in all treatments. The sugar contents of the stored apples were slightly enhanced, while the acidity level gradually reduced. On the other hand, the flesh color range (L*, a*, b*) values had variation, but it was not significant. Nevertheless, the bruising area in the surface and flesh parts due to free dropping was expanded and affected the quality. On the whole, free dropping and compression on the lateral sides of the fruit triggered increased bruised area and physiological changes. Proper harvesting and post-harvest handling practices are the primary concerns to take into consideration in Afghanistan. Establishing post-harvest facilities, such as processing centers, local and typical storage facilities, and market infrastructures is recommended to be necessary for decreasing losses and maintaining quality and shelf life.