Scientific Papers Series B Horticulture

The effect of the low temperature, that of slowingdown the metabolism, adds up to that ofthe carbon dioxide, which has a larger concentrationin the case of storage in a modified atmosphere.During this type of storage the contentof dry soluble substance does not increasevery much as compared to the initial moment(11.09%) and, at the same time, the content ofsoluble carbohydrates and titratable acidityinsignificantly drops (7.59% and 0.71%,respectively).4. Quantitative and qualitative lossesThe losses recorded during warm storage(ambient temperature) for 5 days are presentedin Table 4.Table 4. Losses recorded during warm storage of thenectarinesLosses-%Varianttotal weight depreciationV1 45.71 14.97 30.74V2 36.89 13,32 23.57V3 43.13 13.63 29.50V4 31.79 14.36 17,43Average per cultivar 39.38 14.07 25.31It was noticed that the total losses are significantin all 4 variants of fertilisation and theyare caused by weight losses and especially bydepreciation. The following total losses wererecorded: 45.71% at the V1 variant, 36.89% atthe V2 variant, 43.13% at the V3 variant and31.79% at the V4 variant. The average values ofthese indicators per cultivar are: 39.38% totallosses, 14.07% weight losses and 25.31% alterationlosses. The V4 variant recorded the smallestamount of losses, followed by the V2 variant.The causes which determine the high percentagesof losses by alteration are the late infectionscaused by the Monilinia laxa and the M.fructigena fungi, which occur before harvestingand the attacks of the Rhizopus stolonifer andBotrytis cinerea, which occur during harvestingand manipulation.By using the cold storage method (Table 5) thedeveloping of these fungi and moulds is sloweddown, so that the total losses were greatlyreduced at all fertilisation variants. The valueswere the following: 34.28% at the V1 variant,10.17% at the V2 variant, 22.06% at the V3variant and 5.67% at the V4 variant, the averageper cultivar being of 18.04% total losses.17Table 5. Losses recorded during cold storage of thenectarinesLosses-%Varianttotal weight depreciationV1 34.28 1.50 32.78V2 10.17 1.30 8.87V3 22.06 1.43 20.63V4 5.67 1.33 4.34Average per cultivar 18.04 1.39 16.65It is obvious that, similar to warm storage, theV4 variant records the smallest losses (5.67%),followed by the V2 variant (10.17%).Using the AM storage method led to a greatdecrease in both the weight and the depreciationlosses, the values of the total losses percultivar being of 6.46%, meaning 12.17% at theV1 variant, 6.47% at the V2 variant, 6.99% atthe V3 variant and only 0.23% at the V4variant.Table 6. Losses recorded during AM storage of thenectarinesLosses-%Varianttotal weight depreciationV1 12.17 0.31 11.86V2 6.47 0.33 6.14V3 6.99 0.31 6.68V4 0.23 0.23 -Average per cultivar 6.46 0.29 6.17There were no depreciation losses at the V4variant and the weight losses were very small(0.23%) in comparison to the other storagevariants.CONCLUSIONSThe different fertilization of the trees isreflected in the degree of firmness of the fruit atharvest, but not in their evolution duringstorage. The greatest firmness at harvest isrecorded by the fruits which were chemicallyfertilized at soil + foliar (68.79 PU). Theevolution of the firmness during storage isespecially influenced by the storage conditions.Through warm storage the nectarines easilylose their firmness because of their rapidripening. In the case of cold storage theintensity of the ripening process is decreased sothat the fruit maintain their structural andtextural firmness for a longer period of time (25days). By enriching the atmosphere within thestorage space in carbon dioxide the metabolic