Application of 1-MCP for long distance transportation of high quality tomato seedlings
2011
Kubota, C. | Kroggel, M.
To test the efficacy of 1-MCP (1-methylcyclopropene) to prevent early yield reduction due to abnormal first fruit truss development of seedlings shipped for long distance, ‘Durinta’ tomato seedlings with visible flower buds were placed in chambers for 4 days under one of the following conditions: 1) conventional transportation air temperature of 18°C without 1-MCP, 2) 18°C with 1-MCP, 3) 12°C without 1-MCP, and 4) non-stored control. The target initial 1-MCP concentration was 1 micromol mol-1 inside the chamber. After 4-day treatment, the seedlings were removed from the chambers and transplanted inside a greenhouse to observe the first flower and truss development. Three weeks after transplanting, 81.3% of first trusses on the plants treated at 18°C without 1-MCP exhibited an abnormal, delayed fruit development. Both 1-MCP application and 12°C air temperature successfully reduced the symptom to 4.7 and 3.1%, respectively, not significantly different from the non-stored control (1.6%). The average first truss yield was the lowest for 18C without 1-MCP (223 g per truss), followed by 18°C with 1-MCP (582 g), and was the greatest (609-637 g) for 12°C without 1-MCP or the control. Results showed that ethylene accumulation was the primary cause of the delayed fruit development causing yield reduction. Application of 1-MCP during transportation conditions was shown to prevent such undesirable yield loss, and could be used as an alternative method to lower temperatures, in order to mitigate the abnormal first truss development resulting from long distance transportation.
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