Fruit of equal size but varying Ca concentrations were harvested 4 times at weekly intervals for measurements of firmness, titratable acidity, soluble solids and starch, and of Ca, N, P, K, Mg, B, Fe, Mn, Zn, and A1 concentrations. In another experiment, fruit of 3 different sizes were measured generally as above. These measurements were compared with incidences of senescent breakdown, scald and rot after air storage at 0°C, and stepwise multiple linear regression was used to develop equations for predicting apple storage life. Among minerals and maturity indices, Ca, and starch concentrations, respectively, accounted for the most variations in senescent breakdown. Fruit diameter and fruit firmness also accounted for significant amounts of variation in breakdown after storage when fruit size varied. These results show that predictions of storage life based solely on mineral concentrations can be improved by incorporating maturity and size measurements at harvest when these factors are variable.
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Marmo et al. (1985) studied this question.