ACTIVITIES OF ?-GALACTOSIDASE AND ?-L-ARABINOFURANOSIDASE, ETHYLENE BIOSYNTHETIC ENZYMES DURING PEACH RIPENING AND SOFTENING

A study was conducted to determine changes in firmness, ethylene and ethylene biosynthetic enzymes, and the activities of β-galactosidase (β-GAL) and α-L-arabinofuranosidase (α-AF) during peach ripening and softening. The activities of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase, ACC oxidase and polygalacturonase increased in parallel with ethylene production and declined in firmness during peach ripening, and they appeared at maximum simultaneously at maturity IV. β-GAL activity was high in unripe peach fruit and it experienced an overall decline during peach ripening. While α-AF activity changed placidly at the initial stage (maturity I–III), after that it experienced a rapid increasing stage. The preliminary result indicated that β-GAL and α-AF, as well as ethylene biosynthetic enzymes, may be involved in the ripening and softening of peach fruit.