Apple fruit at Donnybrook developed better colour including
percent red blush on fruit surface, number of export-grade fruit,
CIE a* and b*, and concentrations of phenolic pigments, than at
Perth Hills in both years. This may be attributed to more moderate
mean day temperatures at Donnybrook compared with the
warmer temperatures at Perth Hills (Fig. 10) during fruit maturation
and ripening in both seasons. Earlier, the development of poor
red blush on the surface of ‘Cripps Pink’ apple fruit from Western
Australia has also been partially attributed to warm temperatures
prior to harvest (Whale et al., 2008). Generally, cool nights and
moderately warmer days favour red colouration, and high night
temperatures adversely affects the formation of anthocyanins in
apple fruit(Blankenship, 1987). However,the positive effects oflow