Flat peach, a predominant fruit consumed in China, is highly susceptible to softening and perishable. The impact of 1-methylcycloproene (1-MCP) fumigation combined with ε-poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) on softening and postharvest reactive oxygen species (ROS) and phenylpropanoid pathway metabolisms in peaches and its relationship to disease resistance were investigated. Findings revealed that a combination of 1 µL L⁻¹ 1-MCP and 300 mg L⁻¹ ε-PL effectively suppressed the activity of cell-wall-degrading enzymes and the disassembly of cell wall structure, thus maintaining higher firmness and lower decay incidence. Compared to the control group, the synergistic approach bolstered enzymatic responses linked to disease resistance and ROS-scavenge system, consistently preserving total phenolics, flavonoids, ascorbic acid, and glutathione levels. Concurrently, the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide and malondialdehyde was significantly diminished post-treatment. These results show that there is good synergistic effect between 1-MCP and ε-PL, which could effectively maintain the quality of flat peach fruit by modulating cell wall metabolism and enhancing the resistance.

The color and aroma of nectarines experience adverse effects from cutting, resulting in the fast senescence of fruit tissue. Therefore, 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) was used to treat postharvest nectarines before cutting, and its effect on the surface browning and aroma alteration were investigated. The results indicated that 1-MCP restrained the soluble quinone (SQC) accumulation in fresh-cut nectarines by regulating the peroxidase (POD) and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activities and the metabolism of phenolic compounds. Compared with the control, 1-MCP pre-cutting treatment maintained the ultrastructural integrity of the cell wall in fresh-cut nectarines, which also showed reduced malondialdehyde (MDA) content and reactive oxygen species (ROS) and enhanced the 1,1-Diphenyl-2-Picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activities. Electronic nose and GC-MS analysis revealed that the aroma profiles presented significant differences in the control and 1-MCP treatment during the storage at 0 °C for 10 days. The browning value of the 1-MCP pre-cutting treatment was 29.95% lower than the control, which prevented the loss of aroma on day 10. The fresh-cut nectarines could still maintain the characteristic flavor, while the flesh maintains its firmness. The 1-MCP pre-cutting treatment improves the sensory and aroma characteristics of fresh-cut fruits, which is beneficial to the preservation of fresh-cut fruits, improves transportation efficiency, and then improves the overall quality and market attractiveness of the fruit.

This paper introduces a novel cold storage: phase-temperature storage, which is characterized by its distinctive coupling jacket structure that connects the sub-storehouse units to the main storehouse. This innovative design facilitates heat transfer while effectively inhibiting mass transfer. Experimental results indicate that polyethylene film, with a thermal conductivity of 0.42 W/m·K, is a more suitable material for constructing sub-storehouses. Enhancing the surface area of the sub-storehouse and increasing convective wind speed are identified as key factors for improving convective heat transfer within the sub-storehouse. Moreover, the optimized design ensures a more uniform temperature distribution inside the sub-storehouse. In contrast to conventional cold storage, the defrosting unit in phase-temperature storage consumes only 5.72 units of energy under equivalent conditions, compared to 154.02 units for conventional cold storage. This demonstrates that the energy expenditure during the defrosting process of phase temperature storage is less than 4% of that required by conventional cold storage, achieving an energy savings rate exceeding 96%. Under identical circumstances, conventional cold storage consumes a total of 36.359 units of electrical energy for defrosting, with 34.231 units being released as defrosting waste heat into the cold storage environment, resulting in a loss rate of approximately 94.13%. Based on apple preservation experiments, phase-temperature storage exhibited significantly superior performance compared to conventional cold storage in terms of apple respiratory peak, weight loss rate, hardness, and TSS content, with respective values of 17.05 CO₂ mg·kg⁻¹·h⁻¹, 2.89%, 9.29 N, and 16.3%. In contrast, the conventional cold storage group recorded values of 18.15 CO₂ mg·kg⁻¹·h⁻¹, 5.16%, 8.42 N, and 14.9%. These results highlight the exceptional freshness-retention capabilities of phase-temperature storage, underscoring its considerable potential for application in storage systems.

At present, conventional cold storage facilities in China are poorly suited to on-farm storage demands for agricultural produce, mainly due to their large spatial requirements, complex and labor-intensive installation procedures, limited portability, and insufficient coverage in rural areas. These limitations significantly contribute to post-harvest losses of perishable crops such as cherry tomatoes. To address this challenge, the present study proposes a compact and temporary cold storage system—gas-inflated membrane cold storage (GIMCS)—which exploits the inherent safety, cost-effectiveness, ease of deployment, and adaptability of inflatable membrane structures. A series of mechanical performance tests, including tensile strength, pressure resistance, and burst tests, were conducted on PA/PE (Polyamide/Polyethylene) composite membranes. The optimal configuration was identified as a membrane thickness of 70 μm, a gas column width of 2 cm, and a PA/PE composition ratio of 35%/65%. Thermal performance evaluations further revealed that filling the inflatable structure with 100% CO₂ yielded the most effective insulation. Through structural optimization, a cotton-filled gas-inflated membrane cold storage system (CF-GIMCS) incorporating a dual insulation strategy—combining intra-membrane and extra-membrane insulation—was developed. This multilayer configuration significantly reduced conductive and convective heat transfer, resulting in enhanced thermal performance. A comparative evaluation between GIMCS and a conventional cold storage system of equivalent capacity was conducted over a 15-day storage period, considering construction cost, temperature uniformity, and fruit preservation quality. The results showed that the construction cost of GIMCS was only 38% of that of conventional cold storage. The internal temperature distribution of GIMCS was highly uniform, with a maximum horizontal temperature difference of 1.4 °C, demonstrating thermal stability comparable to conventional systems. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two systems in key post-harvest quality indicators, including weight loss and respiration rate. Notably, GIMCS exhibited superior performance in maintaining fruit firmness, with a hardness of 1.30 kg·cm⁻² compared to 1.26 kg·cm⁻² in conventional storage, indicating a potential advantage in shelf-life extension. Overall, these findings demonstrate that GIMCS represents an affordable, technically robust, and portable cold storage solution capable of delivering preservation performance comparable to—or exceeding—that of conventional cold storage. Its modularity, mobility, and ease of relocation make it particularly well suited to the operational and economic constraints of smallholder farming systems, offering a practical and scalable pathway for improving on-farm cold chain infrastructure.