Relationship between Preharvest Factors and the Incidence of Storage Disorders in 'Fuji' Apples during CA Storage

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of pre-harvest factors on fruit quality and the incidence of storage disorders in 'Fuji' apple during CA storage. Incidence of storage disorders varied, depending on the growing regions, field conditions, and altitude of the orchards. Results indicated that fruit maturity may play a crucial role in the incidence and severity of flesh browning and watercore. The incidence of these storage disorders increased with fruit maturity until 180 days after full bloom (DAFB). In addition, occurrence of watercore was correlated with the incidence of flesh browning during CA storage. The incidence of flesh browning was positively correlated with the sum of the diurnal temperature range from September through October and amount of precipitation from August to October in 1996-1999 growing years. These results suggested that 'Fuji' apple should be harvested no later than 180 DAFB because the late harvested fruits were prone to development of watercore which was correlated with the incidence of flesh browing during CA storage in Korea.