Low temperature conditioning treatments reduce external chilling injury of ‘Hass’ avocados
Allan B. Woolf , Katy A. Cox, Anne White and Ian B. Ferguson
Postharvest Biology and Technology Volume 28, Issue 1 , April 2003, Pages 113-122
2003
บทคัดย่อ
Storage of avocadofruitis limited by the development of skin damage (externalchilling injury) when fruitare stored at temperatures of less than about 3 °C. The potential for low temperature conditioning to reduce external damage of ‘Hass’ avocados was examined. Avocados harvested in early summer were conditioned at temperatures of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 and 15 °C for a period of 0, 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 days before 3 weeks storage at 0 °C. Three days after removal from coolstore, external damage was rated, and internal quality assessed after ripening at 15 °C. The experiment was repeated in late summer, butfruitwere stored for 4 weeks at 0 °C, and only external damage was measured. Controlfruitstored at 0 °C for either 3 or 4 weeks exhibited severe external damage, manifested as blackening and pitting over almost the wholefruitsurface. Conditioning temperatures of 4–10 °C reduced skin damage. The optimum temperature/time combinations were 6 or 8 °C for 3–5 days prior to 0 °C storage. Ripe- fruitquality was also highest in these treatments. Weight loss, ethylene and CO2 production were not associated with the reduction in external damage, and the response observed is therefore likely to be due to a low temperature, rather than a ripening response.