ALLEVIATION OF CHILLING INJURY OF PONKAN DURING AND AFTER LOW-TEMPERATURE QUARANTINE TREATMENT BY USING SUCROSE FATTY ACID ESTERS

Abstract

Ponkan (Citrus reticulata Blanco), that is chilling sensitive, must undergo a quarantine treatment to disinfest fruit fly before export to Japan from Taiwan. Pitting caused by chilling injury tends to induce a poor fruit quality in a market. The alleviation of chilling injury of ponkan during and after low temperature disinfestation (at 1° ± 0.2°C, for 15-16 days) was investigated by treatment with 0.35% sucrose fatty acid esters (C- 10:0, 12:0, 14:0, 16:0, 18:0 and 18:1 acid esters). Development of pitting on the fruit surface after transfer to 20°C from low temperature quarantine treatment was suppressed significantly by the treatment with the sucrose fatty acid esters. Sucrose myristate ester (C- 14:0, M-1695) was most effective among the used esters to inhibit the occurrence of pitting. In addition, the treatment with esters influenced fruit quality and weight loss. However, the treatment did not affect respiratory rate of the fruit.