Forced-air cooling applied before fruit handling to prevent mechanical damage of plums (Prunus salicina Lindl.)
Domingo Martínez-Romero , , Salvador Castillo and Daniel Valero
Postharvest Biology and Technology Volume 28, Issue 1 , April 2003, Pages 135-142
2003
บทคัดย่อ
The effect of forced-air cooling on plums (Prunus salicina Lindl., cv. Santa Rosa), applied before or after mechanical damage, and then stored at 1 °C for 4 days, was studied. CO2 production rate,weight loss,firmness (force–deformation ratio and fleshfruitdeformation) and colour were investigated. In another set of ‘Santa Rosa’fruitwithout a pre-cooling treatment (damaged and non-damaged), CO2 production rate was examined. Forced-air cooling led to a reduction in the respiration rate of mechanically damaged plums. Damagedfruitbefore pre-cooling showed a respiration rate double that of damagedfruitafter pre-cooling during storage. Damaged plums before pre-cooling showed higherweight losses,lower firmness (for both force–deformation ratio and fleshfruitfirmness parameters), and lower chroma values than damagedfruitafter pre-cooling. Pre-cooling ‘Santa Rosa’ plums after harvesting and before manipulation (transportation to packing-house, handling in packing-house, during storage or transportation) can help to maintainfruitquality and prolong shelf life.