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  • Author or Editor: Akiva Apelbaum x
  • HortScience x
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Abstract

Reducing the atmospheric pressure in the refrigerated storage chamber at 6°C markedly retards avocado fruit ripening. This effect is more pronounced when the pressure is reduced below 100 mm Hg. Fruit stored at 760 and 200 mm Hg ripened after 35 and 50 days, respectively, while fruit stored at pressures below 100 mm Hg remained unripe for 70 days in storage. The best storage pressure tested for avocado fruits was found to be 60 mm Hg. The inhibition of ripening under these conditions is explained by the lower oxygen partial pressure which retards respiration and ethylene production, and by the acceleration of the outward diffusion of ethylene from the tissue which lowers its internal level.

Open Access

Abstract

The influence of reduced atmospheric pressure on the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, in lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) heads was determined. Exposing lettuce heads to a pressure of 2.66 kPa for 52 hr resulted n 100% aphid mortality, whereas the lettuce marketing quality was not affected. In view of the marked requirement for aphid-free lettuce heads, commercial use of the nonchemical reduced pressure method is suggested.

Open Access

Abstract

The main evidence for a single mechanism of ethylene action is the observation that nearly all responses to the gas have the same dose response curve (8), suggesting a single type of receptor molecule. If so, the case is similar to that of phytochrome where one biochemical change produces a multitude of secondary changes resulting in a variety of physiological responses depending upon the tissue involved. We have chosen to use the etiolated pea seedling to investigate the primary and secondary actions of the gas because all parts of this plant have been extensively studied and are highly responsive to ethylene. When this seedling is exposed to ethylene stem growth slows, the hook tightens, the subapex swells and nutates horizontally, root growth slows and the zone of elongation swells, root hairs form, lateral root formation is inhibited, and the root tip bends plageotropically. The causes of these changes are to be found in the effects of ethylene on cell division, cell expansion, and auxin transport.

Open Access