Effects of low temperature storage on chilling injury and energy status in peach fruit

In order to investigate the relationship between chilling injury and energy status of peach fruit, freshly harvested peach fruits were stored at 0、5 or 10℃, and fruit browning index, firmness, extractable juice rate, the activities of mitochondria respiratory metabolism-related enzyme H+-ATPase, Ca2+-ATPase, succinic dehydrogenase (SDH), cytochrome C oxidase (CCO), contents of ATP, ADP, AMP and energy charge were determined during storage. The results showed that the incidence of chilling injury of peaches varied among different storage temperatures. The chilling injury was much more severe in fruits stored at 5℃ than at 0℃, while no chilling injury symptoms was observed in peach fruit stored at 10℃. Moreover, peaches stored at 5℃ had lower contents of ATP, ADP, energy charge, activities of H+-ATPase, SDH and CCO compared to those stored at 0 or 10℃. These results suggested that the development of chilling injury might be resulted from limited energy availability.