Effects of postharvest application of ethephon on fruit ripening, quality and shelf life of mango under modified atmosphere packaging.
Zora Singh and Janes, J.
ISHS Acta Horticulturae 553: 599-602.
2001
บทคัดย่อ
Mature fruits of mango (Mangifera indica cv. Kensington Pride) were dipped for five minutes in either distilled water or aqueous solutions containing Tween 80 (0.01%) and ethephon at 250, 500, 1000, 1500 or 2000 ppm, and kept at 20 deg C for 24 hr to induce ripening prior to transfer to 13 deg C. The fruits were packed and sealed in modified atmosphere polyethylene bags and stored at 13.5 plus or minus 0.5 deg C. Carbon dioxide, oxygen and ethylene concentrations in sealed bags were measured periodically during storage. Fruit ripening and fruit quality were assessed 25 days after storage. During the storage period, the concentrations of oxygen increased and that of carbon dioxide decreased in the sealed bags with the application of ethephon treatments. Concentrations of ethylene in the sealed bags increased as the concentration of applied ethephon was raised. All the ethephon treatments significantly reduced the ripening time and fruit firmness. The colour index of the fruits was significantly increased with the ethephon treatments. Ethephon treatments significantly reduced the acid content and improved total soluble solids, TSS/acid ratio, reducing, non-reducing and total sugar contents of the fruits compared with untreated fruits. Eating quality of the treated fruits was also significantly improved with the ethephon treatments. These preliminary results showed that ethephon induced fruit ripening combined with modified atmosphere packaging improved fruit quality and prolonged shelf life of mangoes.