Fruit quality preservation of 'Laetitia' plums under controlled atmosphere storage

Cristiano André Steffens,Erlani O Alves,Auri Brackmann,Cassandro V.T Do Amarante

doi:10.1590/0001-3765201420130237

Cristiano André Steffens, Erlani O Alves + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201420130237

Copy DOI

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of controlled atmosphere (CA) on quality preservation of 'Laetitia' plums, mainly on internal breakdown, in order to determine the best CA storage conditions. Two experiments were carried out one in 2010, and another in 2011. In 2010, besides cold storage (CS; 21.0 kPa O2 + 0.03 kPa CO2), the fruits were stored under the following CA conditions (kPa O2+kPa CO2): 1+3, 1+5, 2+5, 2+10, and 11+10. In 2011, the fruits were stored under CS and CA of 1+0, 1+1, 2+1, and 2+2. The fruit stored under different CA conditions had lower respiration and ethylene production, better preservation of flesh firmness, texture and titratable acidity, lower skin red color, and lower incidence of skin cracking than the fruit in CS. In 2010, the fruit under CA with 2+5, 1+5, and 1+3 had a pronounced delay in ripening, although it exhibited a high incidence of internal breakdown. In 2011, the CA conditions with 2+1 and 2+2 provided the best delay in ripening and a reduced incidence of internal breakdown. The best CA condition for cold storage (at 0.5°C) of 'Laetitia' plums is 2 kPa O2 + 2 kPa CO2.

Highlights

Ripening of plums is extremely fast and their harvest season does not usually last more than 20 days, they produce a large amount of fruit within a short period of time
The fruit stored under controlled atmosphere (CA) presented lower respiration and ethylene production rates (Table II)
The respiration rate upon exiting the chamber was lower in the fruit stored under 1 kPa O2 + 5 kPa CO2 and 2 kPa O2 + 10 kPa CO2 (Table II)

Summary

Introduction

Ripening of plums is extremely fast and their harvest season does not usually last more than 20 days, they produce a large amount of fruit within a short period of time. The production period may be prolonged by storage. Controlled atmosphere (CA) is the storage system which allows for better preservation of the fruit quality due to a more pronounced reduction in the fruit metabolism. The storage of plums under CA is a subject which still not well explored subject and there. Van de Geijn (1993) recommends a 0°C temperature and a CA storage of 3 kPa O2 and 7 kPa CO2 for European plums. Singh and Singh (2012, 2013), in Japanese plums, observed firmer flesh in ‘Blackamber’ plums stored under CA of 1 to 2.5 kPa O2 and 3 kPa CO2.

Objectives

Methods

Results