Comparison of textural and ultrastructural characteristics of four apple cultivars with different textures during cold storage

Figures & data

Figure 1. Changes in hardness (a), gumminess (b), and chewiness (C) of the four apple cultivars during cold storage

Table 1. Mean scores for sensory texture quality during cold storage

Months/Cultivar	Sensory attributes
	Crispness	Hardness	Coarseness	Juiciness	Mealiness
0/‘Fuji’	107.8	99.8	12.6	103.4	10.3
0/‘Ruixue’	116.5	117.8	9.8	112.3	7.6
0/‘Qinguan’	36.3	110.1	85.6	55.9	27.8
0/‘Ben Davis’	21.2	100.2	89.5	47.7	40.5
2/‘Fuji’	93.6	81.9	17.8	88.3	20.1
2/‘Ruixue’	113.7	112.3	10.5	110.8	8.8
2/‘Qinguan’	25.9	82.5	97.7	43.7	40.8
2/‘Ben Davis’	15.3	61.2	113.2	30.3	65.9
4/‘Fuji’	68.2	70.1	26.8	70.3	32.7
4/‘Ruixue’	93.7	94.6	14.7	101.7	10.5
4/‘Qinguan’	15.3	72.1	109.5	33.2	57.8
4‘Ben Davis’	9.8	38.3	132.2	17.1	83.9

0 indicates mature period, 2 represents cold storage for two months, and 4 represents cold storage for 4 months.

Table 2. The flesh cell morphological index of the four apple cultivars

Cultivar	Area/μm^2	Perimeter/μm	Width/μm	Length/μm	Aspect	Roundness	Porosity/%
‘Fuji’	20405.13^c	389.89^c	186.77^c	127.42^bc	1.39^c	0.70^ab	0.18^b
‘Ruixue’	20230.32^c	555.31^c	186.90^c	137.34^c	1.30^ab	0.77^bc	0.13^a
‘Qinguan’	13564.71^b	449.46^b	149.36^b	119.11^b	1.18^a	0.81^c	0.23^c
‘Ben Davis’	10411.72^a	389.89^a	130.06^a	103.02^a	1.26^ab	0.69^a	0.39^d

different normal letters stand for significant difference among accessions at 0.05 level for the same index in the same column.

Figure 2. Light micrographs of the tissues of the four apple cultivars

Figure 3. Scanning electron micrographs of the tissue of four apple cultivars

Figure 4. Transmission electron micrographs of the cell walls of the four apple cultivars