Quality of mangoes as affected by stage of maturity.
Amarakoon, R.; Sarananda, K. H.; Illeperuma, D. C. K.;
Tropical Agricultural Research Year: 1999 Vol: 11 Pages: 74-85 Ref: 13 ref.
1999
บทคัดย่อ
Immature harvesting, latex burn and poor postharvest handling practices result in high postharvest losses of mango. The present study was carried out to develop subjective and objective methods to determine maturity of Karuthacolomban, Velleicolomban and Willard, grown in Sri Lanka. Fruits were harvested at 10, 11, 12 and 13 weeks after flowering and subjected to float/sink test. They were also analysed for physical appearance (colour and shape), and chemical composition (total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA)). A sensory evaluation test was conducted for ripened fruits after each stage of maturity. Effect of latex on the severity of disease development was also studied. Peel colour development could be used to determine harvest maturity in Willard. Conversion of dark green to light green with maturity cannot be considered as a reliable index for the other 2 cultivars. Raising of shoulders with maturity is a better indicator of maturity than peel colour development, and it could
be used as a reliable index to harvest all 3 cultivars. For Karuthacolomban and Velleicolomban, experience is required to identify the correct stage for selective harvesting. Though mature fruits of Willard and Velleicolomban passed the float test, Karuthacolomban did not respond consistently. The mean value of TSS recorded from Karuthacolomban and Velleicolomban harvested 13 weeks after flowering was 18 deg Brix, while titratable acidity was 0.3%. TSS and TA of Willard were similar to these values in the 12th week after flowering. The fruits harvested before the optimum stage of maturity contained significantly lower TSS, higher TA and poorer sensory properties than mature fruits. Karuthacolomban was more susceptible to stem end rot than Velleicolomban. Removal of latex by washing did not minimize disease incidence. Velleicolomban and Karuthacolomban should be harvested with stalk attached to prevent latex drip damage on skin and reduce disease incidence.