In this study, we investigated the response to low temperature and effect of 1-MCP treatment on maintaining fruit quality during postharvest storage in Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) fruit of Taiwanese and Japanese cultivars. In all cultivars, fruit softening was repressed at 2, 5, and 8°C compared with 15°C, and the effect was enhanced at lower temperatures. Among the cultivars, ‘Hakuo’ and the Taiwanese cultivar, ‘Taiwan’, which showed no and a very low incidence of chilling injury (CI), respectively, could be stored for a long time at 2°C. On the other hand, ‘Gojiro’ showed frequent CI at 2, 5, and 8°C, and so these temperature conditions were considered unsuitable for long-term storage. As the other 5 cultivars (‘Nanko’, ‘Ellching’, ‘ST’, ‘Hakufunbai’, and ‘85486’) showed frequent CI when stored at 2°C, storage at 5 or 8°C was considered favorable for these cultivars. In addition, ripening-inhibitory effects of 1-MCP treatment were observed as repressed fruit softening, peel color change, and ethylene production in both the Taiwanese cultivar ‘Ellching’ and Japanese cultivar ‘Nanko’. 1-MCP was effective in ‘Ellching’ for suppressing peel color change at 15 and 20°C, and fruit softening at 15°C. On the other hand, 1-MCP treatment at lower storage temperatures such as 0 and 5°C induced CI and adversely affected the maintenance of fruit quality in both cultivars. These results collectively suggest that the late-maturing Taiwanese cultivars have the same or higher resistance to low temperatures compared with Japanese cultivars, and 1-MCP treatment at a certain temperature range is promising for maintaining fruit quality during postharvest storage of Japanese apricot.
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