Extending postharvest life of Karaj persimmon by hot water and 1-MCP treatments

Abstract

To extend the shelf life of ῾Karaj᾿ persimmon following cold storage, fruit were harvested at commercial maturity and treated with hot water at 45°C for 30min, 50°C for 20min or with 500nL/L 1-MCP and then stored at 1°C for 30 days. After storage, fruit were treated with CO2 to remove astringency, then held at 25°C for 5 days (simulated shelf life) and evaluated for quality. cv. ῾Karaj᾿ persimmon was susceptible to chilling injury [CI], however the main symptoms CI, such as softening, loss of colour, flesh gelling and skin browning, did not appear during cold storage but developed when fruit were transferred to shelf temperatures. Treatment with hot water, especially at 50°C, reduced chilling injury development of fruit during cold storage, followed by shelf life, but neither hot water treatment prevented chilling symptoms completely. The major alleviation in chilling injury occurred following 1-MCP treatment. Increased ethylene production was associated with chilling injury in affected fruit and treatments that reduced chilling injury suppressed ethylene evolution. This result indicated that hot water and 1-MCP treatments have the potential to extend storage life of ῾Karaj᾿ persimmon fruit; however 1-MCP is more effective than hot water.