The rate of ripening and senescence in apples is retarded primarily by the use of refrigeration and controlled atmosphere (CA) storage. Growers are familiar with the benefits of these techniques in terms of season extension and for maintaining the visual and eating quality of apples, particularly those harvested mid- to late season.
However, control of post-harvest temperature has marked benefits in maintaining the quality of early season apples during distribution and marketing. This is particularly important for varieties such as Discovery that ripen rapidly and have an inherent short shelf-life and are harvested when high ambient temperatures normally prevail.
Control of post-storage temperature for the main storage varieties is just as important as for the marketing of early apples. Months of effort in maintaining appropriate storage conditions can be wasted by lack of consideration of the time and temperature that the apples experience after removal from CA and low temperatures.
As apples ripen slowly during storage there will be a corresponding reduction in the expected shelf-life i.e. the time to reach an unacceptable quality. Research has shown that the loss of quality after storage is predictable and this allows a logistics approach to ensure that consumers are provided with consistent quality.