Effects of ⁶⁰Co-γ irradiation combined with 1-MCP on storage quality of blueberry

In order to study the effects of ⁶⁰Co-γ irradiation combined with 1-methylcyclopropene treatment on the storage quality of blueberry, the 'Powderblue' blueberry was used as the experimental material to determine the physiological indexes, nutritional index and related enzyme activities. Postharvest blueberry were divided into 6 treatments under (0 ± 0.5)℃ conditions (1.5 kGy irradiation treatment was recorded as A, 2.5 kGy irradiation treatment as B, 1.5 kGy irradiation +1μL · L^-1 1-MCP treatment as C, 2.5 kGy irradiation +1μ L· L^-1 1-MCP treatment as D, 1μL · L^-1 1-MCP treatment as E, and control as F). The results showed that: compared with the control (F), the four treatments (A, C, D and E) inhibited the increase of fruit decay rate and decline of flavor index, delayed the physiological metabolism of fruit, maintained better nutritional quality and enzyme activity of fruit, while 2.5 kGy irradiation (E) treatment decreased the firmness, L^* value, soluble solids and anthocyanincontent content as well as increased the PG activity. Among them, The decay rates of blueberries in groups A, B, C, D, E and F were 24.94%, 38.36%, 13.87%, 30.78%, 22.96% and 48.38% respectively after storage for 80 days. Therefore, 1.5 kGy ⁶⁰Co-γ irradiation combined with 1 μL · L^-1 1-MCP treatment had the best fresh-keeping effect on the storage of blueberry fruits. This study could provide a new idea for the storage and preservation of blueberries. (authors)