Abstract
Consumer preference for apples is primarily influenced by key quality attributes, with texture and aroma being the most significant factors in shaping their choice. Fruit texture, dissected into mechanical and acoustic parameters, together with volatile organic compounds perceived as aroma, were assessed in four novel apple cultivars, such as ‘WA38’ (‘Cosmic Crisp®’), ‘Scilate’ (‘Envy™’), ‘Cripps Red’ (‘Joya™’) and ‘CIVM49’ (‘RedPop®’). Fruits were stored in experimental scale according to three postharvest strategies: ultra low oxygen (ULO), with and without the exogenous application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), and dynamic controlled atmosphere based on chlorophyll fluorescence (DCA-CF), in conformity to standard commercial practice. The dissection of texture into mechanical and acoustic components enabled a more precise characterization of the fruit texture behavior, allowing the analytical distinction between crispy and firm type of apples. Besides the dominant role of the genetic background of each cultivar, the different storage strategies played an important role in the determination of the investigated quality properties. Among the three types of storage methods, the application of 1-MCP showed a longer lasting effect, especially regarding the firmness parameter assessed for ‘CIVM49’ and ‘Scilate’. The apple stored with the application of the ethylene competitor or the dynamic control of the storage atmosphere showed a higher acoustic response in ‘CIVM49’ compared to ULO. The joint and integrated analysis of the dissected texture components together with the pattern of volatile aromatic compounds, clearly expressed a negative association between these two quality factors. The results reported in this work provide an in-depth analysis of how different postharvest storage strategies affect the texture and aromatic profiles of apples.