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Volatile emissions and chlorophyll fluorescence were investigated as potential signals of heat injury for apple [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.] fruit. `McIntosh', `Cortland', `Jonagold', and `Northern Spy' apples were exposed to 46 °C for 0, 4, 8, or 12 hours (heat treatments). Following treatments, fruit were kept at 20 °C and evaluated after 1, 2, 4, or 7 days. Heat treatments induced volatile production including ethanol and ethyl acetate. The 8 and 12 hours heat treatments increased ethanol and ethyl acetate production in all four cultivars by as much as 170- and 11-fold, respectively, 1 day after treatments. Heat treatments also reduced ethylene production and chlorophyll fluorescence. Heat for 12 hours caused serious flesh browning. Among the cultivars investigated, `Northern Spy' and `McIntosh' were most susceptible to heat stress based on the degree of flesh browning. Correlation coefficients of heat stress induced ethanol emission and chlorophyll fluorescence with flesh browning were 0.82 and -0.66, respectively. The nondestructive measurements of ethanol emission and chlorophyll fluorescence have potential to identify stressed fruit with reduced quality or compromised storage life.

Ethanol concentration and chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) were measured as signs of heat stress in apple fruit [Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill. var. domestica (Borkh.) Mansf.]. `McIntosh', `Cortland', `Jonagold', and `Northern Spy' apples were placed in trays and exposed to 46 °C for 0, 4, 8, or 12 hours. Following treatments, fruit were stored in air at 0 °C and evaluated after 0, 1, 2, or 3 months. Ethanol and ethylene production, CF, peel and flesh browning, firmness, skin color, soluble solids, and titratable acidity were measured. Increases in ethanol were apparent immediately following 12-hour heat treatments as well as after 3 months. After 3 months, ethanol concentrations were 16-, 52-, 6-, and 60-fold higher in `McIntosh', `Cortland', `Jonagold', and `Northern Spy' apples than in controls, respectively. The concentrations of ethanol accumulated reflected the degree of heat-induced fruit injury. Heat treatments reduced ethylene production relative to control values. After 3 months of storage ethylene production of fruit exposed to 46 °C for 12 h was <0.48 μmol·kg^-1·h^-1 compared to >4.3 μmol·kg^-1·h^-1 for controls. Heat treatments also reduced CF which was expressed as Fv/Fm, where Fv is the difference between the maximal and the minimal fluorescence (Fm - Fo), and Fm is the maximal fluorescence. After 3 months storage at 0 °C, Fv/Fm was ≈0.2 in fruit held at 46 °C for 12 hours compared with 0.5-0.6 for control fruit. Exposure to 46 °C for 12 hours caused severe peel and flesh browning in all cultivars. Severity of peel and flesh browning increased with increasing duration of heat treatment and subsequent storage at 0 °C. `Northern Spy' apple fruit were most susceptible to heat stress based on the degree of flesh browning. Heat treatments of 8 and 12 hours reduced firmness of `McIntosh', `Cortland', and `Northern Spy', but not `Jonagold' apples. Hue angle of the green side of fruit was also reduced in `Cortland', Jonagold' and `Northern Spy' apples receiving the 8- and 12-hour treatments. Heat treatments caused a decrease in fruit tiratable acidity, but had no effect on soluble solids content. The increase in ethanol production and decrease in CF correlated with heat-induced injury, and were apparent before browning was visually apparent. Ethanol and CF have the potential to be used to nondestructively predict the severity of injury that develops during storage.

Fresh broccoli (Brassica oleracea L. Italica group) florets untreated or treated with 1 μL·L^-1 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) for 14 h, were stored at 12 °C with 0, 200, or 700 nL·L^-1 ozone. Senescence parameters were evaluated after 0, 1, 2, 5, 8, or 12 days of storage. Treatment with 1-MCP delayed the yellowing of florets, and at day 5 the hue angle of 1-MCP treated florets was 116° (green) compared to 102° (yellow) for the control. Respiration rates of florets were reduced by 1-MCP for the first 5 days. The 1-MCP treatment maintained higher chlorophyll fluorescence expressed as F_v/F_m during 12 days of storage. Also, 1-MCP reduced dimethyl trisulfide production, which contributes to off-odor development in broccoli florets. Compared with the controls, florets stored in 200 nL·L^-1 ozone had less mold growth and yellowed more slowly, but no differences were observed in respiration, ethylene production, or F_v/F_m. Florets stored in 700 nL·L^-1 ozone were greener than florets held in air or 200 nL·L^-1 ozone. Interestingly, chlorophyll fluorescence of the florets stored in 700 nL·L^-1 ozone decreased significantly and at day 12, F_v/F_m was only 30% of its initial value. Ozone at 700 nL·L^-1 stimulated respiration and ethylene production of florets after 1 day of storage, and caused visible damage in the form of increased weight loss and browning of the floret stem ends. Treatment of broccoli with 1-MCP alone or in combination with 200 nL·L^-1 ozone maintained the quality and extended the shelf life of broccoli florets.