Woolliness and leatheriness in late peach cultivars submitted to both delayed storage and to cold storage

The study was performed to identify the effect of delayed storage on the control of woolliness and leatheriness during cold storage of the late peach cultivars grown in Brazil. The fruits were harvested at the mature-green stage. All of the cultivars were exposed to temperatures of 20 +/- 0.5 degrees C and 75 +/- 3% of R. H. in a cold room for 0, 24, or 48 hours. Afterwards, the fruits were kept at 0 +/- 0.5 degrees C and 92 +/- 3% of R. H. for 28 days. The yellow pulp peaches, regardless of the length of delayed storage, did not present any symptoms of woolliness or leatheriness. The white pulp peaches not submitted to delayed storage developed either one or more of the other physiological disorders. Due to their lower level of pulp firmness, the control fruits of 'Chimarrita' and 'Marli' peaches were classified as woolly fruits. The control fruits of 'Chiripa' peaches, with pulp firmness of more than 30 N, presented leatheriness. High pectinmethylesterase (PE) activity was verified in the woolly fruits. The delayed storage for 48 hours in all the cultivars provided advanced ripening. The delayed storage by 24 hours was effective in the control of physiological disorders in the white pulp cultivars.