In this chapter, the major changes occurring in tomato ripening on plant and during post-harvest storage have been described. Acceleration of the parameters related to ripening after harvest leads to a reduction in tomato quality affecting marketability and shelf life. Apart from low temperature
storage, there are few post-harvest technologies to retard the tomato ripening process and extend storage life. Some attempts have been carried out using heat treatments (to alleviate chilling injury), MAP technology, 1-MCP treatments and edible coatings. From the results reported herein, 1-MCP seems to have a promising future for commercial application.
Currently, 1-MCP is being commercially used in cut flowers and fruits such as apples, bananas and melons. It is registered (under the trade name Smartfresh®, by Agrofresh, Inc, a subsidiary of Rohm & Haas, Spring House, Pennsylvania, USA) for use as post-harvest fruit treatment in 6 EU countries and 15 countries outside Europe, including the United States and Canada. In Spain, authorization and registration are pending for the use of 1-MCP in tomato. More research is necessary in the field of edible coatings, which could be considered safe for humans because of the use of natural products as ingredients. Finally, the combination of different tools to reduce and/or inhibit ethylene action in tomato deserves further research.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors thank Agrofresh (Rohm & Haas Italy S.R.L.) for 1-MCP support. Part of this work has been co-funded by the Spanish Ministry of
10 20 30 40 50 60
IncreaseinColoura*
5 10 15 20 25 30 Firmness 35 Colour a*
Control Alginate Zein 5 % Zein 10 %
FirmnessLoss(%)
Fig. 9 Effect of coating with alginate or zein (at 5 and 10%) on firmness loss (percentage with respect to firmness at harvest) and increase in colour a* parameter of ‘Rambo’ tomato cultivar after 9 d of storage at 20°C. Data are the mean ± SE of 3 replicates of 20 fruits.
Science through Project AGL2006 04359/ALI and the European Commission with FEDER funds.
ABBREVIATIONS
1-MCP: 1-Methylcyclopropene; MAP: Modified atmosphere packaging;
TAA: Total antioxidant activity; TSS: Total soluble solids; TA: Titratable acidity
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