Cultivar and growing region influence efficacy of warming treatments for amelioration of superficial scald development on apples after storage

Single warmings of ‘Cortland’, ‘Delicious’, ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Pacific Rose’ apples to 20°C for 0–9 days after cold storage of 0–27 days were tested as a potential non-chemical method to control superficial scald development. Only in ‘Granny Smith’ was scald development reduced to commercially acceptable levels by warming, and even for this cultivar the response varied among growing regions. Warming treatments greatly advanced ripening, as indicated by softening of ‘Cortland’, and to a lesser extent ‘Delicious’, but had only small ripening effects on ‘Granny Smith’ and ‘Pacific Rose’. The extent of any warming effects on fruit ripening was greater with longer storage time before warming and with longer warming periods. Warming ‘Cortland’ apples twice reduced scald to the level of DPA treatment but increased the amount of ripening induced. There was no evidence that warming could delay rather than prevent scald development. © 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.