Abscisic Acid Content in Chilled Tomato Fruit

Abstract
Free abscisic acid (ABA) was determined in pericarp of mature-green tomato fruit before and after chilling at 2C for 12 days, in chilling-sensitive and chilling-tolerant cultivars. After being ripened at 20C, these fruit were compared with field-ripened fruit. Chilled fruit contained 2 to 3 times the amount of free ABA as did unchilled. The ABA isolation method described involves the use of preparative and analytical high performance liquid chromatography followed by gas chromatography.