Abstract
Tomato fruit cv. ’Faustine’ F1 were harvested at mature green and full-red stages and treated with 1 or 2 µl·l−1 of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at 20 °C and 85-90% RH, for 21 hours to investigate the ability to delay ripening. Treated and control fruit were stored at 12.5 and 20 °C and 85-90% RH. Ethylene production, rate of respiration, weight loss, market value and storage life were determined after 4-week storage. Exposure of tomato fruit to 1-MCP reduced ethylene production and respiration rate of the fruit harvested at mature-green and full-red stages of maturity. Storage life and market value of tomato fruit depended on the treatment with 1-MCP, stage of maturity and storage temperature. Untreated fruits were characterized by the shortest storage life in comparison with the fruit treated with 1-MCP. The lowest market value was observed for tomato fruit harvested as a mature green, untreated with 1-MCP and stored at 20 °C. Treatment of tomato fruit with 1-MCP resulted in the reduction of natural weight loss during storage. These results suggest that 1-MCP treatment can be used in a commercial storage and trading system for tomatoes due to its ability to delay fruit ripening.