The present project attempts to study the main physiological and biochemical processes occurring in pears during postharvest handling and to establish which are the key factors involved in the induction and the development of superficial scald in pears.

This proposal intents to:

1. To redefine the concept of optimal harvest maturity integrating the notion of physiological maturity and the usage of new markers at harvest capable of predicting the fruit susceptibility to develop superficial scald.
2. To revise the biochemical model underlying superficial scald development in pears with especial emphasis on the putative role of ethylene, alpha-farnesene metabolism and oxidative stress/antioxidants in the induction and development of this physiological disorder.
3. To establish the relationship between the observed biochemical changes and the fruit susceptibility to develop scald but also to envisage the specific role that may have the process of climacteric induction (chilling requirement) for certain pear varieties on the development of superficial scald.