HRT 5801 POSTHARVEST QUALITY MANAGEMENT

RIPENING ENZYMES & HEAT UNIT

AZIMAH HAMIDON GS30608 27/9/2011

RIPENING ENZYME Most of an unripe fruit is hard, green, sour, has no smell, is mealy (starch present), and so on. Such fruits are not appealing and sometimes it made into prickle or preservative fruits. The way fruits ripen is that there is commonly a ripening signal such as a burst of ethylene production. Ethylene is a simple hydrocarbon gas (H2C=CH2) that ripening fruits make and shed into the atmosphere. Sometimes a wound will cause rapid ethylene production...thus picking a fruit will sometimes signal it to ripen...as will an infection of bacteria or fungi on the fruit. This ethylene signal causes developmental changes that result in fruit ripening. New enzymes are made because of the ethylene signal. These include hydrolases to help break down chemicals inside the fruits, amylases to accelerate hydrolysis of starch into sugar, pectinases to catalyze degradation of pectin (the glue between cells), and so on. Ethylene apparently "turns on" the genes that are then transcribed and translated to make these enzymes. The enzymes then catalyze reactions to alter the characteristics of the fruit. The action of the enzymes cause the ripening responses. Chlorophyll is broken down and sometimes new pigments are made so that the fruit skin changes color from green to red, yellow, or blue. Acids are broken down so that the fruit changes from sour to neutral. The degradation of starch by amylase produces sugar. This reduces the mealy (floury) quality and increases juiciness. The breakdown of pectin, thanks to pectinase, between the fruit cells unglues them so they can slip past each other. Also enzymes break down large organic molecules into smaller ones that can be volatile (evaporate into the air) and we can detect as an aroma. In pears, the ethylene signal causes the fruit to change from green to yellow, from hard to soft, from mealy to juicy, from tart to sweet, from odorless to fragrant. If you have never experienced a ripe pear, you have really missed a sensory delight.

Protein synthesis by intact fruits was studied with ripening as measured by flesh softening, chlorophyll degradation, respiration, ethylene synthesis, and malic enzyme activity. Protein synthesis is required for normal ripening, and the proteins synthesized early in the ripening process are, in fact, enzymes required for ripening. l"C-Phenylalanine is differentially incorporated into fruit proteins separated by acrylamide gel electrophoresis of pome fruits taken

at successive ripening stages. Capacity for malic enzyme synthesis increases during the early stage of ripening. Fruit ripening and ethylene synthesis are inhibited when protein synthesis is blocked by treatment with cycloheximide at the early-climacteric stage. Cycloheximide became less effective as the climacteric developed. Ethylene did not overcome inhibition of ripening by cycloheximide. The respiratory climacteric is not inhibited by cycloheximide. It is concluded that normal ripening of pome fruits is a highly coordinated process of biochemical differentiation involving directed protein synthesis.

Chlorophyll pigments decreased and eventually disappeared from the red Capsicum annuum cultivars during ripening. In contrast, the green cultivar Negral of Capsicum annuum, a chlorophyll-retaining variety, showed reduced disappearance of chlorophyll pigments, and the fully ripe fruits retained chlorophylls. Chlorophyllase activity followed a consistent pattern of variation in all the red cultivars which was concomitant with the disappearance of chlorophyll. In the ripe stage the six red Capsicum annuum cultivars preserved their chlorophyllase activity, reflecting a high rate of chloroplast-to-chromoplast transformation. The green Capsicum annuum cultivar (Negral) showed maximum chlorophyllase activity in the late stages of ripening. Thus increasing activity of chlorophyllase, a constitutive chloroplast enzyme, could be associated with a new genesis of both chloroplast (regreening) and chromoplast constituents. The coexistence of chlorophyll and a high level of chlorophyllase activity in ripe fruits of the Capsicum annuum Negral cultivar suggests that chlorophyll catabolism may be affected in several ways, eg by the presence of other chlorophyll-degrading enzymes, by restricted chlorophyll and chlorophyllase contact or by delayed degeneration of chloroplast structures. Commercial bananas are harvested when they have become plump, but are still green. Once the bananas are picked, hormones in the fruit convert certain amino acids into ethylene gas. Ethylene gas, in turn, stimulates the production of several enzymes that change the color, texture and flavor of the banana. The enzyme that makes bananas sweet is called amylase. Amylase breaks down the starch in the banana fruit. When the starch is broken into its smaller sugar components, called glucose, the banana tastes sweet. The enzyme that softens the banana is called pectinase. Pectinase breaks down the cell walls in the banana fruit so that it is less firm. The peel of the banana also becomes softer as it ripens. Other enzymes break down chlorophyll

molecules in the banana. The green pigment of chlorophyll is destroyed and replaced by yellow, red or blue pigments. Depending on the type of banana, the result is either the golden yellow color of our favorite dessert banana, or shades of red or purple for other banana varieties. Once the banana peel has been softened, it bruises much more easily. Bruising causes yet another enzyme called polyphenoloxidase to speed up oxidation, which turns a banana peel brown. Eventually the entire peel will turn almost black. Even when a fresh banana is bruised, a brown spot will often develop. The flesh of the banana will also turn brown if the bruising is deep enough. Green bananas are tougher and therefore easier to ship. During shipping, the environment of the bananas is carefully controlled so that ripening is slowed. The temperature is kept low, and the concentration of ethylene is controlled so that enzyme activity is minimized. The ripening bananas produce so much ethylene that you can use them as a tool to ripen other fruits. Take those green pears home and put them on the shelf in a paper bag with a banana. The banana at room temperature produces ethylene that will signal the green pears to start ripening immediately. The paper bag holds the ethylene in stagnant air around the fruits yet allows oxygen to go into the bag for respiration in the fruits and needed to make the enzymes. In just a few days the pears should be ready to eat! You can do the same with avocados.

HEAT UNIT

The growth and development of both plants and insects is strongly temperature dependent. Their temperature-dependent growth and development is often described as requiring a certain number of "heat units". Daily heat units are calculated as the difference between the average of the daily maximum and minimum temperatures and a certain critical basal or developmental "threshold" temperature. The threshold temperature varies between species. For corn the threshold temperature is 50oF. For peas the threshold temperature is 40oF. The daily heat unit values can be summed for the season to derive cumulative seasonal heat units. This is more predictive of plant and insect growth and development than time alone.

Heat Units = ((Maximum Temp. + Minimum Temp.)/2) - Threshold Temp.

The total amount of heat required, between the lower and upper thresholds, for an organism to develop from one point to another in its life cycle is calculated in units is also called degree-days (D). Sometimes called heat units, degree-days are the accumulated product of time and temperature between the developmental thresholds for each day. Figure 1 illustrates the relationship between time and temperature, and the accumulation of degree-days. One degreeday is one day (24 hours) with the temperature above the lower developmental threshold by one degree. For instance, if the lower developmental threshold for an organism is 51F and the temperature remains 52F (or 1 above the lower developmental threshold) for 24 hours, one degree-day is accumulated.

Figure 1. Thresholds and accumulated degree-days A Celsius degree-day is not the same as a Fahrenheit degree-day because a Fahrenheit degree is smaller than a Celsius degree. It takes nine Fahrenheit degree-days to make five Celsius degree days. DDc = 5/9 (DDf) and DDf = 9/5 (Ddc). Figure 2 shows that the areas under the temperature curve represented in Fahrenheit and Celsius units are equal, but the units differ. Each model in the UC IPM's phenology database gives degree-days for both scales. If you use other references, be sure to use the same scale as that used in the research.

Figure 2. Accumulated degree-days represented in Fahrenheit and Celsius units

Each developmental stage of an organism has its own total heat requirement. Development can be estimated by accumulating degree-days between the temperature thresholds throughout the season. Each species requires a defined number of degree-days to complete its development. The accumulated degree-days from a starting point can help predict when a developmental stage will be reached. The date to begin accumulating degree-days, known as the biofix date, varies with the species. Biofix dates are usually based on specific biological events such as planting dates, first trap catch, or first occurrence of a pest. Accumulation of degree-days should be done regularly, especially when a control action decision is near.

REFERENCE

BASHIR, H. A.; ABU-GOUKH, A .A. Compositional changes during guava fruit ripening. Food Chemistry, Columbus, v. 80, n. 4, p. 557-563, 2003.

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/rhodcv/hort410/csheatuj.htm http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4574458_what-causes-bananas-ripen.html#ixzz1Ykwb4hoe http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/WEATHER/ddconcepts.html http://biomet.ucdavis.edu/DegreeDays/DDhand.htm http://plantphys.info/plants_human/fruitgrowripe.shtml