The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

‘Gala’ apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] fruit can be susceptible to the development of stem-end browning and cracking (splitting) disorders during cold storage. Previous work indicated fruit stem-end browning incidence increases with fruit size. The objective of this work was to further investigate the effect of fruit size on the development of stem-end browning, cracking and other physiological characteristics of ‘Gala’ apples previously held in cold storage. Fruit segregated at harvest based on size (small: 120–175 g; large: 250–350 g) were stored at 0.5 ^oC in air for up to 6 months. Large fruit developed more stem-end browning and cracking compared with small fruit during cold storage, and browning and cracking incidence and severity increased during shelf life. Large fruit had lower internal ethylene concentration (IEC) after 6 months plus 0 or 7 days at 20 ^oC. However, large fruit had higher respiration rate during storage and after the shelf life period. Fruit stem-end lightness (L*) and hue angle (h^o) declined during and after cold storage, with L* and h^o decreasing significantly more for large fruit. While small fruit fresh weight and circumference decreased during storage, large fruit circumference increased along with cracking incidence but fresh weight decreased during storage. These physiological changes appear to contribute to the susceptibility of larger fruit to stem-end browning and cracking more so than smaller fruit.