ВПЛИВ ЕСФОНУ НА БІОХІМІЧНІ ЗМІНИ В ПЕРІОД ДОЗРІВАННЯ ЯГІД, УРОЖАЙНІСТЬ ТА ЯКІСТЬ ПЛОДІВ АҐРУСУ

The effect of pre-harvest treatment of gooseberry bushes (GROSSULARIA RECLINAT (L.) MILL) of cv. Mashenka with a 0.3% aqueous solution of ethylene product on the yield and quality characteristics of berries, quantitative changes in the content of structural polysaccharides during ripening were studied. The experiments were carried out in the field from 2015 to 2017. The experimental sites were randomly chosen, there were five bushes in a row, the repetition of the field experiment was fivefold. The plants were treated with 0.3% aqueous esphone two weeks prior to berry harvesting using an OP-2 backpack. The berries under analysis were selected every four days after treatment with the preparation. The polysaccharide content was determined on a fixed material. The berries were fixed in the field with liquid nitrogen, dried in a drying oven at 70º C to air - dry state. The determination of cellulose and pectin content was carried out by weight method, hemicellulose and non-structural carbohydrates (sugars and starch) in gooseberry fruits were carried out by iodometric method. To evaluate the quality of the berries, their analysis for total acidity was performed by potentiometric titration, ascorbic acid was determined using potassium hexacyanoferrate. The analytical replicability of the studies is fivefold. Statistical processing of the results was performed using the computer program ‘Statistica-6’. The significance of the difference between the control and experiment indicators was determined by Student's t-test. It is found out that on the fourth, eighth and twelfth days, the content of reducing sugars, sucrose and their amounts in the berries treated with ethyleneproducer plants was higher than in the control sample. A more intense decrease in the total acidity of the berries of the experimental sample was observed, while the ascorbic acid content did not change significantly. A higher amylase activity in berries due to ethylene products during ripening was also established, resulting in a faster decrease in the starch content in the berries and an increase in the sugar content. Pre-harvesting of gooseberry with ethylene product esphone leads to increased accumulation of pectic substances in the products, a more intensive hydrolysis of structural polysaccharides in comparison with the control sample, which serves as an indicator of more intense maceration of fetal tissues. The use of pre-harvest processing of gooseberry with ethylene product esphone has led to increased yields and higher quality of gooseberry crop production and has many prospects for the development of mechanized harvesting technologies.