Commercially, apples can be stored for some months in controlled atmosphere chambers to delay ethylene-induced ripening. Apples are commonly stored in chambers with higher concentrations of carbon dioxide and high air filtration. This prevents ethylene concentrations from rising to higher amounts and preventing ripening from occurring too quickly.

For home storage, most cultivars of apple can be held for approximately two weeks when kept at the coolest part of the refrigerator (i.e. below 5 °C). Some can be stored up to a year without significant degradation.[dubious – discuss][62][verification needed] Some varieties of apples (e.g. 'Granny Smith' and 'Fuji') have more than three times the storage life of others.[63]

Non-organic apples may be sprayed with 1-methylcyclopropene blocking the apples' ethylene receptors, temporarily preventing them from ripening.