Postharvest Biology and Technology 92 (2014) 121–127 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Postharvest Biology and Technology jou rn al h om epage: www.elsevier.com/locate/postharvbio Ripening and sensory analysis of Guatemalan-West Indian hybrid avocado following ethylene pretreatment and/or exposure to gaseous or aqueous 1-methylcyclopropene Marcio Eduardo Canto Pereira a,∗ , Steven A. Sargent b , Charles A. Sims c , Donald J. Huber b , Jonathan H. Crane d , Jeffrey K. Brecht b a Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura, Rua Embrapa, s/n, Caixa Postal 007, Cruz das Almas, BA 44480-000, Brazil b Horticultural Sciences Department, University of Florida-IFAS, PO Box 110690, Gainesville, FL 32611-0690, USA c Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida-IFAS, 359 FSHN Building, Gainesville, FL 32611-0370, USA d University of Florida-IFAS, Tropical Research and Education Center, 18905 S.W. 280 Street, Homestead, FL 33031, USA a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 25 May 2013 Accepted 4 January 2014 Keywords: 1-MCP Harvest maturity Texture profile analysis Sensory analysis Flavor a b s t r a c t Previous reports showed that both gaseous and aqueous 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) delay ripening of avocado (Persea americana Mill.), but there are no reports of the influence of 1-MCP on its sen- sory attributes. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of ethylene pretreatment and/or exposure to gaseous or aqueous 1-MCP on fruit ripening and sensory attributes of ‘Booth 7’ avocado, a Guatemalan-West Indian hybrid. Separate experiments were conducted during two seasons (2008 and 2009) with fruit harvested at preclimacteric stage in October (early season) and in November (late sea- son). Fruit from Season 1 were exposed to ethylene (4.07 mol L -1 ) for 12 h at 20 ◦ C, and stored for more 12 h at 20 ◦ C in an ethylene-free (ethylene, <0.1 L L -1 ) room prior to treatment with either aqueous (1.39 or 2.77 mol L -1 a.i.) or gaseous (3.15 or 6.31 nmol L -1 a.i.) 1-MCP. Ripening was monitored and firmness, respiration, ethylene production and weight loss were measured. Texture profile analysis and sensory analysis were performed on ripe fruit only (firmness, 10–15 N). Fruit from Season 2 were not exposed to ethylene pretreatment but treated only with aqueous 1-MCP 24 h after harvest. Fruit were assessed exclusively for sensory analysis when ripe (firmness, 10–15 N). Treatment with either 1-MCP formulation effectively delayed ripening from 4 to 10 d for early-season fruit, and from 4 to 6 d for late- season fruit. Higher concentrations of 1-MCP of either formulation had the greatest effect on selected pulp textural parameters of early-season fruit; the gaseous formulation had greater effect on late-season fruit quality than the aqueous formulation. In general, sensory panelists ratings of overall liking were not affected by 1-MCP treatment. Both aqueous and gaseous 1-MCP formulations delayed ripening of the Guatemalan-West Indian ‘Booth 7’ avocado without significant loss in appearance or in sensory attributes and, therefore, could be considered for use as a postharvest treatment for this hybrid. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Avocados are originally from tropical America and three races of avocados (Persea americana Mill.) are known: West Indian, Guatemalan and Mexican. Many cultivars are hybrids between two of these races. Although there are many published reports for culti- vars of the Mexican race, there is a lack of information on cultivars grown in the lowland tropics and subtropics that are crosses of the West Indian and Guatemalan races. These types are the main avocado cultivars produced in tropical regions in Brazil, which ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +55 75 3312 8064; fax: +55 75 3312 8097. E-mail addresses: marcio.pereira@embrapa.br, mecpereira@hotmail.com (M.E.C. Pereira). total production was 160,000 metric tons in 2011 (IBGE, 2013), and Florida, which accounted for 13.7% (28,100 metric tons) of total US production and represented 4.8% (US$ 23.5 million) of the total pro- duction value during season 2011/2012 (USDA, 2013). The world avocado production in 2011 was estimated in 4.4 million metric tons, with Mexico as the largest producer (28.5%), well above the second and third largest producers, Chile (8.3%) and Dominican Republic (6.7%) (FAOSTAT, 2013). Consumer interest in avocados is growing mainly due to its nutritional and health benefits (Evans and Nalampang, 2009). The fruit is rich in monounsaturated lipids, especially oleic acid (Moreno et al., 2003; Pacetti et al., 2007) and in lipophilic antiox- idants (Wu et al., 2004) that have been reported to reduce cancer risk (Ding et al., 2007). The nutritional appeal of lower oil and lower calories contents of the Florida avocados than the ‘Hass’ has been 0925-5214/$ – see front matter © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.postharvbio.2014.01.008