1-MCP application for horticultural commodities in Korea: Practical potential and future task

1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), a gaseous inhibitor of ethylene action, has been widely used in horticultural crops to maintain quality, especially for long-term storage. In fruits, 1-MCP treatment reduces ethylene evolution, softening, color change, and flavor production, thus preserving product quality. The treatment also reduces the incidence of physiological disorders induced during refrigerated storage of many fruits and vegetables. Recent studies of 1-MCP treatments on various horticultural produce provided precious information that can expand the potential of commercial utilization. Under various treatment conditions, different responses to 1-MCP treatments were elucidated according to crops, cultivars, and harvest maturity. At present in Korea, however, commercial use of 1-MCP is limited to apple industry. The limit of commercial use of 1-MCP may be mainly due to different responses to the treatment by harvest maturity and storage conditions. Besides, diverse postharvest programs according to the period of storage require more specific treatment conditions such as concentration, temperature and the duration of treatment. In the present review, relatively recent research results were summarized and, based on the findings, future tasks were proposed to expand commercial usefulness of 1-MCP treatment in more horticultural commodities.