As shown in Fig. 2A, the respiratio

As shown in Fig. 2A, the respiration rate in strawberry fruit declined in the initial 2 days of storage, increased over the next 4 days and then decreased again until the end of the storage period. Strawberries treated with blue light experneced a profoundly higher level of respiration rate after 4 days of storage. The ethylene production in the control fruit declined gradually during the first 8 days of storage, then decreased afterwards. However, in blue light-treated fruit, ethylene production decreased during the first 2 days of storage, increased dramatically and reached a maximum level on day 6th, then declined again until the end of the storage period. Significantly (p < 0.05) higher ethylene production was observed in blue light-treated fruit than in the control fruit after 2 days of storage (Fig. 2B).