Maintaining Fruit Firmness of `McIntosh' and `Cortland' Apples with Aminoethoxyvinylglycine and 1-Methylcyclopropene during Storage

The goal of this project was to evaluate the effectiveness of aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG) for increasing effectiveness of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) for maintaining firmness and preventing scald in `McIntosh' and `Cortland' apples ( Malus × domestica ). AVG and 1-MCP used together maintained `McIntosh' apple firmness more than 1-MCP used alone after 120 or 200 days of controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage. AVG and 1-MCP can be used to maintain firmness of `McIntosh' when internal ethylene concentration (IEC) at harvest is as high as 240 μL·L -1 , but CA storage life is limited to 4 months. AVG was not effective at increasing efficacy of 1-MCP on `Cortland' when IEC at harvest was not significantly different between AVG-treated and untreated fruit and IEC was less than 2 μL·L -1 . AVG increased efficacy of 1-MCP on `Cortland' when IEC was 36 μL·L -1 in untreated fruit compared to undetectable in AVG treated fruit. 1-MCP prevented scald of `Cortland' in 1 year and reduced it to 5% or less in another year when fruit were stored 120 days. 1-MCP reduced `Cortland' scald to 34% or less after 200 days of storage.