Sucrose treatments delay senescence and reduce ethylene production of Asparagus spears

Harvested asparagus spears (Asparagus officinalis L.) deteriorate rapidly because of high metabolic rate. Postharvest quality changes in Asparagus occur in the spear?s tip where sucrose- a soluble carbohydrate decline rapidly. Controlling sucrose loss in the spear may result to extend shelf life of asparagus. To delay the senescence, this study, treated asparagus spears with 3%, 5%, and 10% of sucrose for 20 h at 2?C and were stored for 20 days at 2?C. During storage, pattern of respiration decline was not altered by exogenous sucrose. However, the ethylene production of spears treated with sucrose was less than those of non-treated spears, which showed peak for 18 days after harvest. For overall appearance, non-treated spears were rated as unacceptable, due to lack of freshness. In contrast, overall appearance of 3 or 5% sucrose treated spears were rated as good or excellent at 18 days storage at 2?C. The firmness of spears treated with sucrose was higher than those of non-treated spears specially the tip. Carbohydrate analysis by HPLC showed that glucose content probably interacts with cell wall component as synthesis was increased by exogenous sucrose. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis revealed that exogenous sucrose triggered the genes related in senescence of asparagus spears such as ACC oxidase. Sucrose is not only an energy source for metabolism but also acts as a signal molecule. Thus, it is necessary to examine the relevance of senescence of asparagus spears through a network of ethylene and glucose. Further expression analysis of genes associated with such structure and synthesis of cell wall associated with sucrose metabolism is under study. Complete list of authors and sources M.H. Park, S.Y. Shin, H.Y. Won, J.W. Choi, J.G. Kim poemmich@korea.kr Postharvest Research Team, National Institute of Horticultural & Herbal Science, Suwon 440-706, Korea Picture by galeria.dibujos.net V Postharvest Unlimited, ISHS International Conference, 10-13 June 2014, Cyprus, http://web.cut.ac.cy/postharvest/ Key words Poscosecha??? postcosecha? postharvest?? na-oes??????????? ???????????? ????????????????? post-r?colte?? ???? ?? ????????????????????????? na-oogst???????? post-raccoltaObr?bka po?? p?s-colheita?? ?????????????????? hasat sonras??????????????????????? Ernte? ?????????????????? ???? ???????????? postcollita????? poskliz?ov頠 ????? ?????????????????????? nakon branjapozberov頠?????????????? obdelovanje zemlje po??????? post-colleita?? ????????????????????? pascapanen?? ?il?onn postharvest? ??????????? p?c ra?as?????? derliaus apdirbimas po?????? lepas tuai??????????? ????????????????????? post-recoltare?????????? ?????? ??????????????? ????????????????????? ?????????????????????? ???????????????????? sau thu ho?ch?????????? ???????????????? zangemva kwenkathi yokuvuna Esp?rrgo?????????????????? Asparagus???? aspersies?????? ????????????????? ?? ???? asparagoj??? asperges??????? ??????????????????????????????????????????? ?? asparago???? szparagi???????? espargos??????? ??????????????? ?? ku?konmazasparagus ????????????? spargel??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? ???????????