Effect of storage temperature and 1-MCP treatment on the incidence of flesh browning disorder in 'Wonhwang' pears

'Wongwhang' pear often suffered from the incidence of core and/or flesh browning, which is known to be associated with an improper postharvest handling including storage temperature. We examined the effect of storage temperatures and 1-MCP treatment on the occurrence of browning disorder in 'Wonwhang' pears (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai). The incidence of flesh and/or core browning, was not consistent to storage temperature (0-10 degrees C). Fruit with high soluble solids and low firmness (more mature fruit) at harvest showed a tendency of high incidence of browning disorder regardless of storage temperature and the effect of 1-MCP (0.5 to 1 ul.L-1) on disorder occurrence was not clear. The browning disorder in 'Wonwhang' appeared to be rather affected by the maturity of fruit at harvest. Future study including determination of accurate maturity indices for harvest is required to prevent the postharvest suffering by browning disorder.