Involvement of ethylene in development of chilling injury in fresh-cut tomato slices during cold storage

Experiments were conducted to determine if ethylene influences chilling inj ury, as measured by percentage of slices exhibiting water-soaked areas in f resh-cut tomato slices of 'Mountain Pride' and 'Sunbeam' tomato (Lycopersic on esculentum Mill.). Ethylene concentration in containers without ventilat ion significantly increased during storage at 5 degreesC, whereas little or no accumulation of ethylene occurred in containers with one or six perfora tions, Chilling injury was greatest for slices in containers with six perfo rations, compared to slices in containers with one perforation, and was ove r 13-fold greater than that of slices in control containers with no perfora tions. An experiment was also performed to investigate the effectiveness of including an ethylene absorbent pad in containers on subsequent ethylene a ccumulation and chilling injury. While ethylene in the no-pad controls incr eased continually during storage of both 'Mountain Pride' and 'Sunbeam' tom atoes at 5 degreesC under modified atmosphere conditions, no increase in ac cumulation of ethylene was observed in containers containing ethylene absor bent pads throughout storage. The ethylene absorbent pad treatment resulted in a significantly higher percentage of chilling injury compared with the no-pad control. In studies aimed at inhibiting ethylene production using AV C during storage of slices, the concentration of ethylene in control contai ners (no AVG) remained at elevated levels throughout storage, compared to c ontainers with slices treated with AVG, Chilling injury in slices treated w ith AVG was 5-fold greater than that of controls, Further, we tested the ef fect of ethylene pretreatment of slices on subsequent slice shelf life and quality. In slices treated with ethylene (0, 0.1, 1, or 10 muL(.)L(-1)) imm ediately after slicing, ethylene production in nontreated controls was grea ter than that of all other ethylene pretreatments. However, pretreatment of slices 3 days after slicing resulted in a different pattern of ethylene pr oduction during storage. The rate of ethylene production by slices treated with 1 muL(.)L(-1) ethylene 3 days after slicing was greater during storage than any of the other ethylene treatments. With slices pretreated with eth ylene, bath immediately and 3 days after slicing, the rate of ethylene prod uction tended to show a negative correlation with chilling injury. Chemical name used: 1-aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG).