Postharvest Biology and Technology of Fruits, Vegetables, and Flowers

PHOSPHOLIPASE D, MEMBRANE DETERIORATION, AND SENESCENCE 223
Table 9.4 Color and firmness of control and phospholipase D antisense
Celebrity tomatoes
Quality parameters Control tomato fruits Antisense tomato fruits
Firmness (N/mm) 4.97 ± 0.59 a 5.99 ± 1.03 b
Fruit weight (g) 95.14 ± 36.56 a 34.87 ± 21.57 b
Red intensity (a+) 29.60 ± 0.70 a 31.70 ± 1.67 b
Yellow intensity (b+) 17.22 ± 0.06 a 18.42 ± 2.65 a
Vitamin C (mg/100 g) 3.9 ± 0 a 10.4 ± 0.016 b
Lycopene (mg/100 g Juice) 12.19 ± 0.09 a 17.92 ± 0.43 b
Nonsoluble solids (%) 3.54 ± 0.05 a 5.15 ± 0.03 b
Soluble solids (%) 5.90 6.60
Nine fully ripe fruits from each set were harvested and used for color and firmness
measurements. Color was measured by a Minolta Chromameter (CR 300) at two
spots in the midlocular region of tomatoes. The values are mean ±SE from 18
readings. Firmness was measured by a texture analyzer. The values are mean
±SE from 18 readings, expressed in newton. The pressure was measured using
a hand-held probe with an 8-mm probe tip. Soluble solids were measured using
a hand-held refractometer.
C
T
(a)
C
T
(b)
C
T
(c)
Fig. 9.13 Morphological characteristics of control and antisense PLD tomatoes. (a) Celebrity control (C) and
antisense PLD (T) tomatoes at the time of harvest. (b) Celebrity control (C) and antisense PLD (T) tomatoes
after 2 weeks of storage at 22 ◦ C. (c) A cross section of Celebrity control (C) and antisense PLD (T) tomatoes.
(Reproduced with permission from Pinhero et al., 2003.)