“Scald-Cold”: comprehensive dissection of the superficial scald in apple

Apples, after harvest, are stored to enable a continuous year-round availability of fresh fruit on the market. The cold temperature applied to slow down the ripening process can also trigger the development of a series of chilling injury disorders, such as superficial scald. The symptoms of this phenomenon are characterized by the development of brown-discoloured area on the fruit skin, compromising, in the end, the fruit marketability. To comprehensively dissect the underlying physiological mechanisms and genetic control of superficial scald, a multi-disciplinary approach has been designed and presented within the framework of “Scald-Cold”, an interregional project network (IPN) granted by the European Region Tyrol, South Tyrol and Trentino (EGTC). During the ongoing of the “Scald-Cold” project, several technologies will be applied. A QTLome and Systems genetics approaches will be initially used to target the genomic regions involved in the control of several phenotypic entities related to scald. To shed light on the protecting mechanisms against this disorder, the fruit transcriptomes will be also investigated in the attempt to illustrate the physiological effects of different postharvest technologies in preventing the occurrence of the superficial scald. In the end, the development of this disorder will be also monitored with innovative non-destructive methods based on NIR spectroscopy implemented for the definition of predicting tools. The different disciplines representing the core of this project aim to disclose novel regulatory processes of this disorder, providing new series of tools important for both the scientific and technical communities interested in apple breeding and postharvest. To this end, novel molecular markers suitable for the selection of new apple cultivars genetically insensitive to superficial scald will be released as outcome of this project, together with the development of tools for an early detection of this phenomenon and a better understanding about the different postharvest technologies to date employed in apple postharvest