Abstract. The contribution of the UV light component on the skin coloration was determined in ‘Hakuho’ peach. Detached fruit partially covered with a UV-proof polyvinylchloride (PVC) film and a polyethylene film were exposed to sunlight for 4 days. Red coloration of the fruit and anthocyanin content in the skin were considerably reduced with the UV-proof PVC film. Irradiation with a UV fluorescent lamp at 3.58 W•m-2 markedly enhanced the red color de-
velopment, while white fluorescent light at 120 µmol•m-2•s-1 did not affect the coloration. UV irradiation also increased the anthocyanin content in the cultured skin discs with increasing irradiance up to above 7.3 W•m-2. These results suggest that the UV component contributes significantly to the enhancement of the fruit coloration by sunlight exposure.