Superficial scald, a functional disorder of stored apples. IV.—Effect of variety, maturity, oiled wraps and diphenylamine on the concentration of <i>a</i>‐farnesene in the fruit

Abstract

Abstract During storage of apples at 1° the concentration of a ‐farnesene in the ‘coating’ (mainly cuticle) and adjacent cells increased to a maximum and then declined. At the highest maximum farnesene was 15% of the total lipid of the coating. Evidence is presented for a role of a ‐farnesene in superficial scald. More a ‐farnesene was found in earlier picked apples and more in the scald‐liable Granny Smith than in the scald‐resistant Crofton variety. During storage a ‐farnesene moved from the fruit to the oiled wraps until wraps contained more than twice as much as the fruit. Diphenylamine reduced the production of a ‐farnesene in later picked apples.