INFLUENCE OF STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES ON QUALITY PARAMETERS FOR APPLE'S GROWTH IN ORGANIC SYSTEM

Nowadays, the consumer demand for organic fresh fruits with better nutritional quality has increased; therefore the market pressure for a prolonged shelf life is growing.For this reason, improving storage conditions and technologies is important and becomes highly relevant.The storage in controlled atmosphere conditions represent an efficient technology used for fruits and vegetables and is also accepted in organic system when gases like O₂, CO₂, and N₂ are used.Therefore, controlled temperature and humidity enhances the benefits of long-term storage and better shelf life, especially for organic fruits.Apples represent one of the most common organic fruits which require long-term storage.The aim of this work was to determine the optimal storage technologies for organic apples based on quality parameters.Apple varieties grown in the experimental orchard of University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine of Bucharest were harvested, stored and monitored for several months.The storage technologies applied were normal atmosphere with 1˚C and 95% relative humidity (RH) (for 2 months), combined with controlled atmosphere: 1˚C, 95% RH, 3% O₂ and two different CO₂ concentrations 5%, respectively 10% (for another 5 months).Quality parameters monitored consist in analysis of pH, total soluble solids (TSS), dry matter content (DM%), firmness, total titratable acidity (TAA) and ascorbic acid content.For all apple samples in all storage conditions, the ascorbic acid content registered decreases during storage.