The effect of periods of anaerobiosis on the storage of apples

SummaryAn adequate supply of oxygen, to maintain aerobic metabolism, is essential during the storage of apples. One of the recommended conditions for storing Cox’s Orange Pippin apples is in 1.8 to 2.5% oxygen; sometimes this is attained by admitting nitrogen to the store. Inaccurate estimation of the oxygen content of the store can result in the fruit being deprived of oxygen and in the accumulation of alcohol in the tissues. If aerobic conditions are re-established, the alcohol content of the fruit decreases, but if the concentration is of the order of 200 mg alcohol/100 g fruit the apples become senescent before they lose the alcoholic flavour.It has been suggested elsewhere that a preliminary anaerobic phase, lasting for a week at 3.5 °C, leads to improved turn-out of apples from C.A. storage. For the English cultivars tested this has not proved to be the case. Accidental or deliberate anaerobiosis is detrimental in other respects, apart from the accumulation of alcohol; losses from rotting are increa...