A combination of 1-methylcyclopropene treatment and intermittent warming alleviates chilling injury and affects phenolics and antioxidant activity of peach fruit during storage

Peach (Prunus persica L. cv. Yuhualu) fruit were picked at their physiologically mature stage and treated with 5 μL L−1 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), intermittent warming (IW) and a combination of 1-MCP and IW (1-MCP + IW). Severity of chilling injury (CI), quality characters, phenolic composition as well as antioxidant properties were measured during refrigerate storage at 2 °C plus three days of shelf-life at 20 °C. These results showed that all applied treatments dramatically prevented the degree of flesh browning for 'Yuhualu' peach fruit. Furthermore, 1-MCP treatment was able to alleviate the negative impact of IW, and the combination of 1-MCP and IW possessed the lowest CI index and the highest fruit qualities. Additionally, treatment with 1-MCP alone or combined with IW effectively delayed and elevated the accumulation of phenolics and antioxidant capacities for peach fruit during entire cold storage and subsequent shelf-life period. The application of 1-MCP plus IW could be a favorable practice for preventing chilling injury and maintaining fruit quality for peach fruit during refrigerate storage.