## 3 Results and Discussion
### Evaluation of Apple Weight Loss and Quality during Storage  
Depending on the apple cultivar, apples differ not only in organoleptic and physical properties or chemical composition, but also in fruit mass [62]. The mass of apples has been found to determine their quality during storage [63]. The postharvest losses are determined by storage conditions, fruit firmness, apple mass, pH, the composition of soluble solids, and other parameters. In our study, we evaluated the weight loss of damaged and depreciated apples during storage in a controlled atmosphere. The weight loss of apple samples stored in chambers V and VI was the lowest compared to apple samples kept in chambers I-IV and VII-VIII (Table 6). The weight loss of 'Ligol' apples stored in chamber V and VI conditions was found to be the lowest (at 1.60% and 1.40%, respectively) (Table 6). Apple samples of 'Alya' and 'Cortlend' cultivars stored in chambers I to II and VIII showed maximum weight losses of 8.30, 8.20, and 8.20%, respectively (Table 6). Figure 3: Content of soluble solids (SS) and firmness (F) of apples, Pearson’s correlation coefficients. \(0<|\,\mathrm{r}\,|\,\leq 0.3\) is a weak correlation; \(0.3<|\,\mathrm{r}\,|\,\leq 0.7\) is a moderate correlation; \(0.7<|\,\mathrm{r}\,|\,\leq 1\) is a strong correlation [59]. Studies carried out by [PERSON] and [PERSON] showed that the weight of 'Red delicious' apples decreased by at least 2.22% during storage, with a greatest loss of 2.91% detected in apple samples of the 'Golden Delicious' cultivar. The researchers found that, with increasing shelf life of apples to 4 months and 5 months, the percent weight loss of apples increased by 4.05 and 4.53%, respectively [40]. In our study, apples were stored for a longer period of 8 months, resulting in twice the loss of apple weight. Apple samples of 'Spartan', 'Ligol', and 'Cortlend' cultivars kept in chambers II, III, and V were found to have the lowest quality losses of 3.90, 3.00, and 3.50%, respectively (Table 6). The largest percentage of apples that sustained quality loss were stored in chamber I and VIII conditions (Table 6). The evaluation showed that, during the storage of apples of the 'Auksis' cultivar under the conditions of chambers I to VIII, their quality decreased from 26.20 to 37.90% compared to that of apples of other cultivars (Table 6). The results of the study also showed that the quality of 'Cornel Red' apples stored in Chamber VIII conditions decreased by as much as 39.30% (Table 6). [PERSON] et al. estimated that, during postharvest operations, the quality of apples decreased by about 17.00% [64]. [PERSON] et al. found that during 22-week cold storage, apple quality decreased by 22.00% [65]. Apple weight loss depends on the apple cultivar, apple skin structure, the chemical composition of the wax layer, intensified respiration, and water mass loss [66]. Water loss results in a decrease in turgor pressure in apple tissue cells, and this influences the process of apple softening [47; 67]. The softening of the fruit causes changes in the original shape of the fruit and a decrease in quality. [PERSON] et al. found that the decrease in cell turgor pressure in tomato (_Lycopersicon esculentum_ Mill.) fruit resulted in their softening and weight loss [67]. The widespread consumption of apples in the world is determined by the totality of external (color and size) and internal (taste, texture, smell, and nutritional value) quality parameters of apples [4; 5; 34]. The sweet or sour taste of apples determines the satisfaction of the consumers' taste and the consumption of apples in the diet [31; 33]. [PERSON] and [PERSON] claimed that the sweet and sour taste of the fruit is determined by the complex of sugars and soluble solids in the apples [32; 33]. During storage, the metabolic processes in the apples cause variation in the content of sugars and organic acids, which determines changes in organapeptide properties.