Changes Which Occur in Apple Tissue upon Treatment with Various Agents and Their Relation to the Natural Mechanism of Softening During Maturation

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Abstract
During the maturation and softening of apples, the tensile strength of the tissue and the proportion of the total pectic constituents decrease and the proportion of water-soluble pectic materials increases. Expts. made with dumbbells cut from Webster apples and soaked in solns. of ascorbic acid and H2O2 indicate that similar changes may be brought about by these agents, especially when they are both present simultaneously. Thus the transformations usually ascribed to enzymes assumedly present in the apple tissue may be performed by non-enzymatic means by these agents which are normal components of plant tissues.