effect of potassium permanganate, 1-methylcyclopropene and modified atmosphere packaging on postharvest losses and quality of fresh apricot fruit cv. ‘shahroudi’

Purpose: the main objective of this work was to assess the effectiveness of potassium permanganate (kmno4), 1- methylcyclopropene (1-mcp) and different packaging on reducing the occurrence of decay and extending apricot fruit shelf life during cold storage. research method: fruits were harvested manually from a commercial apricot orchard based on peel color (light-green) and total soluble solids approximately 10.5 °brix. fruits were then dipped in kmno4 (20 or 50 ppm) solution for 3 minutes or exposed to 1-mcp (0 or 1 μl l-1) for 20 h at 20 °c. thereafter, fruits were placed into polyethylene trays and covered with cellophane films or polyethylene lid (packed with its lid) to create a passive modified atmosphere packaging, whilst the control group remained unpacked and then stored at 0.5 ± 0.5 °c with 80% rh. findings: the results showed that weight loss significantly reduced when apricot fruit covered with cellophane (10.02%) or when packed in pe containers (0.86%) compared to the unpacked control (37.61%), consequently, the firmness value was higher in unwrapped than wrapped fruit due to the high dehydration of unpacked fruit. application of kmno4 or 1-mcp had no significant effect on tss. interestingly, the shelf life extended 3-fold greater in treated fruit with kmno4 at 20 ppm or 1- mcp (1 μl l-1) when packed in pe container compared to control unwrapped fruit. research limitations: no significant limitation to report. originality/value: in general, kmno4 or 1-mcp treatments had a positive effect on fruit color and taste in packed samples on cellophane or pe container.