The Effects of Pre-Harvest Naphthalene Acetic Acid (NAA) Treatments on Fruit Quality Attributes of Braeburn Apples during Cold Storage
Burhan Ozturk
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey.
Orhan Karakaya *
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey.
Yakup Ozkan
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Süleyman Demirel University, Isparta, Turkey.
Kenan Yildiz
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Gaziosmanpaşa University, Tokat, Turkey.
Medeni Karakaya
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey.
Saadet Koc Guler
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Ordu University, Ordu, Turkey.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In this study, effects of pre-harvest naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) treatments on weight loss, color, flesh firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), titratable acidity and starch index of Braeburn apples (Malus x domestica Borkh) were determined at harvest and at 45 days post-harvest intervals throughout cold storage at 0±0.5°C and 90±5% RH. During cold storage, the lowest weight loss was obtained from NAA-treated fruits. L* and hue angle values of both control and NAA-treated fruits decreased in all analysis periods. While chroma value increased for NAA-treated fruits during cold storage, it firstly increased, and then decreased. The flesh firmness of NAA-treated fruits was higher than control fruits at harvest, whereas it was lower in the last two analysis periods. NAA-treated fruits had lower SSC values than the control fruits. The starch degradation of NAA-treated fruits was faster than the control fruits.
Keywords: Color, flesh firmness, Malus x domestica borkh, starch index, weight loss