Impact of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photolysis on ethylene degradation kinetics and removal in mixed-fruit storage, and direct exposure to ‘Fuji’ apples during storage

Accumulated ethylene in fruit storage/transportation causes rapid senescence resulting in reduced shelf-life and postharvest losses. The aim of this study was to investigate the application of vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photolysis modular reactor for fruit storage. The first experiment compared the effectiveness of VUV photolysis reactor with the standard fruit industry adsorbent (potassium permanganate, KMnO₄) on the removal of ethylene from mixed-fruit loading of apples, banana, and pears stored at ambient temperature (16 °C) for 6 days. Second study evaluated the impact of direct VUV radiation on quality attributes of apples stored at 10 °C for 21 days. Results showed that ethylene produced in mixed-fruit loading storage significantly (p < 0.05) reduced by 86.9% in the storage chamber connected to VUV modular reactor compared to 25.4% for storage under potassium permanganate. Direct exposure of apples to VUV radiation successfully reduced both ethylene and respiration rate but damaged the skin of the apples. Hue angle and lightness (L*) for apples exposed to VUV radiation declined significantly (p < 0.05) from 60.7 ± 1.09 to 33.5 ± 9.51 and 58.1 ± 3.60 to 50.4 ± 1.13, respectively. This study showed the potential of VUV photolysis as an innovative technique for removing ethylene from storage facility.