1H-Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of ripening 'Kensington Pride' mango fruit.
Joyce D. C., Hockings P. D., Mazucco R. A., Shorter A. J.
Author Affiliation: Institute for Horticultural Development, Agriculture Victoria, 621 Burwood Highway, Knoxfield, Vic. 3180, Australia.
Functional Plant Biology 29 : 873-879
Abstract : Physicochemical gradients occur in mango mesocarp tissue during ripening. These gradients are reflected in water activity, which is non-uniform throughout the mesocarp. Signal intensity in proton magnetic resonance images (first echo, proton density and T2) for green-mature mango cv. Kensington Pride mesocarp tissue was highest near the endocarp and lowest near the exocarp. Relative signal intensity increased in the middle mesocarp as ripening proceeded, but remained relatively low in the outer mesocarp. T2 relaxation times for inner and middle mesocarp regions fell during ripening. The data suggest that water activity in the mesocarp tissue increased in an outward-moving flux as ripening progressed. This change in water activity was associated with starch hydrolysis and other ripening-related processes that commence near the endocarp.