RESPONSE OF APPLE CULTIVARS TO DIFFERENT STORAGE DURATIONS

The experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of different apple cultivars during storage at Department of Horticulture, Agricultural University, Peshawar, Pakistan during 2007-08. The fruit of apple cultivars: Royal Gala, Mondial Gala, Golden Delicious and Red Delicious were harvested at commercial maturity and stored at 5±1°C with 60-70 % relative humidity. Physico-chemical changes in fruit were determined at 30 days interval during storage. Apple cultivar Red Delicious had the highest TSS/Acid ratio (23.12), fruit firmness (5.98 kg/cm2) and the least weight loss (2.22 %). Starch score was the maximum (5.22) in cultivar Golden Delicious. The percent weight loss, total soluble solids, pH and TSS/Acid ratio increased with increase in storage duration while starch score and firmness of fruit declined with increase in storage duration.