Investigating the effect of four ethylene absorbents on the shelf life and quality characteristics of 'Red Delicious' apple fruit

Ethylene, with the chemical formula C2H4, is called the aging hormone; in addition to being able to ripen the fruit, it sometimes leads to a decline in the quality of many fruits, including apples. This study examines the effect of four types of ethylene adsorbents prepared in paper sheets with zeolite, biochar, nano clay, and LDH (bilayer hydroxides) coatings on the shelf life and quality characteristics of ―Red delicious‖ apples were investigated. BET and SEM tests were performed to evaluate the porosity of the absorbent paper cavities. The results of these tests showed that all four papers have porous particles and are capable of absorbing gas. Also, to evaluate the durability and quality characteristics, three apples and three grams of each adsorbent were placed in polyvinyl packages along with the control treatment, sealed with a vacuum device, and stored in the refrigerator. Qualitative characteristics of these apples, including weight loss percentage, soluble solids content (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), fruit firmness, and pH were measured every 7 days until the end of 35 days of storage. A completely randomized statistical design based on the factorial test in three replications and SPSS statistical software were used to analyze the data. A comparison of means shows that after 35 days of storage, zeolite adsorbent has the best results in maintaining quality characteristics and increasing shelf life. Minimum weight loss (0.74%), highest fruit firmness (2.1 N / m2 ), lowest TSS (14.2%), lowest TA (0.17), and pH (4.53) were obtained for zeolite treatment. Therefore, using paper adsorbents to absorb ethylene from the environment around the apple and thus increase its shelf life is effective, but the zeolite treatment and then LDH treatment were the most effective.