Effects of 1-MCP on Tender Fruits

1-MCP is currently being marketed as SmartFreshä by AgroFresh Inc. (within Rohm & Haas) for use on fruits and vegetables. During the last couple of years, SmartFresh has been approved for use in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand, South Africa, Mexico, Chile, Costa Rica, Argentina, and Israel. Unfortunately, full registration is still pending in Canada. Currently, the main use of SmartFreshä is for apples, but as the data for use on other fresh produce expands, AgroFresh will expand the marketing of SmartFreshä accordingly.

Some of the effects that 1-MCP can have on the postharvest quality of tender fruits are listed below, which are based solely on scientific publications from refereed journals.

Apricot

• Decreases or delays - ethylene production, respiration, softening, color change, decay, loss of acidity, and volatile production
• Increases - number of days to ripen, as well as flesh browning in non-stored fruit

Nectarine

• Decreases or delays - ethylene production and softening
• Increases - flesh wooliness and reddening
• Normal ripening - has been concluded that a certain level of ethylene production is essential for normal ripening of nectarines after cold storage

Pear (Bartlett)

• Decreases or delays - ethylene production, respiration, water loss, softening, superficial scald, internal breakdown, and color change (to yellow)
• Subsequent handling - less skin browning and bruising sensitivity during handling
• Subsequent ripening - number of days for fruit to ripen is very dependent on 1-MCP concentration applied and time in storage prior to ripening
• Bosc and d'Anjou - some similar results have been found, but not as much research has been done

Peach

• Decreases or delays - ethylene production, respiration, softening, loss of acidity, and rot (Monilinia sp.) in mature green fruit
• Increases - shelf-life, as well as flesh browning at 5^oC
• Subsequent softening - 1-MCP slows fruit softening in a concentration and time dependent manner, extending the period before fruit becomes over-soft

Plum

• Decreases or delays - ethylene production, respiration, softening, color change, decay, loss of acidity, aroma development, and weight loss
• Flesh browning - has been found to increase in fruit treated prior to storage and decrease in fruit treated post-storage

Varieties - compounds that regulate ripening are not the same in all plum varieties and therefore, there is large variability in responses to 1-MCP among varieties

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