| Abstract: To investigate the effect of different degrees of compression damage on apple quality, this study selected 540 Fuji apple samples and conducted experiments using four pressure gradients of 0N, 50N, 100N, and 150N. The results showed that with the increase of compressive force, the damage volume increased nonlinearly. The damage volumes of the 50N, 100N, and 150N treatment groups were 0.94 ± 0.15cm 3, 2.37 ± 0.28cm 3, and 9.27 ± 0.57cm 3, respectively; After 16 days of storage, the quality damage rates of each treatment group were 2.09%, 3.29%, 4.80%, and 6.31%, respectively, which were significantly positively correlated with compressive force (r=0.978, P<0.01); The decrease in fruit hardness was 9.54%, 15.44%, 23.39%, and 32.54%, respectively, showing an accelerated decreasing trend; The degree of browning significantly increased with increasing pressure, reaching 0.8 °, 1.7 °, 2.9 °, and 4.2 ° after 16 days, respectively; In terms of pectin metabolism, the total pectin content decreased by 8.99%, 13.64%, 22.22%, and 29.89%, respectively, while the soluble pectin content increased by 33.33%, 50.00%, 75.00%, and 78.26%. Analysis of variance showed that compression force and storage time had significant effects on various quality indicators (P<0.01). The research results can provide quantitative basis for post harvest quality management of apples.
Keywords: Fuji apples; Compression damage mechanism; Quality degradation; Apple hardness |
