Study On Storage Quality And Related Physiological And Biochemical Change Of Postharvest Kiwifruit As Influenced By 1-MCP

'Qinmei' and 'Hayward' kiwifruits treated with 0.1μl·L-1 of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) were stored in room storage and cold storage respectively. The effects of 1-MCP on respiration rates, C2H4 production, flesh firmness, titratable acid, total soluble solids, as well as the changes in proteins were studied during storage and the subsequent shelf time. The physiological and biochemical mechanism of ripening and softening of kiwifruit treated with 1-MCP were also probed. The potential application of 1-MCP to kiwifruits storage was discussed. The experiments mainly reach following results. (1) Under both room and cold conditions, 1-MCP significantly inhibited respiration rates and C2H4 production of 'Qinmei' and 'Hayward' kiwifruits both during storage and during subsequent 7d shelf time after storage at 0℃. (2) Under two storage regimes, The softening of kiwifruits showed two distinct phases: rapid softening at early storage and slow softening at late storage. 1-MCP significantly slowed down flesh softening and the reduction of titratable acid, inhibited the increase of total soluble solids of kiwifruits. The inhibitory effect was retained in the subsequent shelf time (3) Compared to 'Qinmei' Kiwifruit, the respiration rate of 'Hayward' Kiwifruit was far lower in room storage, and 'Hayward' kiwifruit produced much less C2H4 and the peaks of C2H4 appeared later. This might resulted in slower softening of 'Hayward' kiwifruit (4) Under room conditions, the 41KD protein occurred after two weeks of storage in two cultivars, 1-MCP had no effect on this protein band. However, a 19.0KD protein band appeared in 'Qinmei' kiwifruit after 3-week storage and 1-MCP inhibited the appearance of this band. In conclusion, 0.1μl·L-1 of 1-MCP could significantly benefit the retention of kiwifruits quality and the extension of storage life under the room and cold storage conditions through inhibiting respiration rates and C2H4 production. This shows that 1-MCP has certain potential to be used in the storage of kiwifruit.