Journal of Taiwan Agricultural Research

Author:Ming-Te Lu, Chia-Wei Song and Shyi-Kuan Ou*

Abstract:

    The ethylene production inhibitor aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) was sprayed at 150 mg L^-1 on fruits, leaves, or whole canopy of ‘premier’ peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch) trees 10 days prior harvest to test the effect of AVG on maturation, preharvest drop, and fruit quality. Fruits were harvested according to commercial standard maturation criteria of background color. Number of fruit harvested and dropped, fruit size, flesh firmness, and fruit quality were assessed on three harvest dates. All treatments effectively delayed fruit maturation, lowered fruit drop, and increased flesh firmness at first harvest date. Whole canopy spraying delayed 11.7% of harvest fruit number at first harvest date and postponed fruit ripening for 7 days so that fruit could be harvested for 15 days. Throughout the harvest period, whole canopy spraying resulted in a 15.3% decrease in fruit drop but was not significant on fruit size and harvest weight.Within 10 days of all AVG treatments, fruits were much firmer (4.0 kg/cm²) than control. In addition, these AVG-treated fruits also showed higher soluble solid content (1°Brix) than control and could last for 17 days after treatments.

Key words:Prunus persica, Aminoethoxyvinylglycine, Harvest time, Fruit firmness

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