Senescent Breakdown of `Jonathan' Apples in Relation to the Water-soluble Calcium Content of the Fruit Pulp before and after Storage

Abstract

In `Jonathan' apples grown in Israel, the incidence of senescent breakdown after 5 months of storage at 0C was not correlated with total or water-soluble Ca content at harvest. Likewise, no other assayed component of the water-soluble or total mineral content (P, Mg, K) of the fruit pulp at harvest correlated with the disorder after storage. After storage, a general decrease in the solubility of Ca was observed. However, this decrease was not uniform in all fruit and, as a result, the correlation between water-soluble and total Ca content, which was high at harvest, diminished after storage. Water-extractable Ca from stored fruit was negatively correlated and water-soluble K/Ca was positively correlated with the incidence of senescent breakdown, whereas total Ca was not correlated.