Influence of Storage Temperature, Hot Water, and 1-Mcp Treatments on the Postharvest Quality of ῾Karaj᾿ Persimmon

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe present study was aimed at assessing the effect of storage temperature, hot water, and 1-MCP treatments on postharvest quality of ‘Karaj’ persimmon. To do so, fruits were harvested at the commercial maturity stage, treated with treatments of water at 25°C for 20 min (control), hot water at 45°C for 25 min, hot water at 50°C for 15 min, and 1-MCP at 500 nL.L−1 for 24 hours, and then stored at two temperatures of 1°C for 30 days and 13°C for 20 days. Finally, fruits were subjected to an astringency removal treatment (98% CO2 at 20°C for 24 h) before being transferred to shelf-life conditions for 5 days at 20◦C. Fruits’ quality was assessed after storage time and after shelf-life conditions, and the results showed that fruit tissue gelling, ethylene production, and ethanol and acetaldehyde contents increased in control fruit after cold storage at 1°C. The results also showed that at 1°C storage, the firmness of control fruits reduced and their coloration retarded. The existence of these symptoms in persimmon, which are chilling symptoms, showed that ‘Karaj’ persimmon is sensitive to chilling, but using treatments of 1-MCP and to some extent hot water at 50°C for 15 min effectively reduced these symptoms and maintained fruit quality. The fruits stored at 13°C soften quickly during storage, but gelling of fruit tissues did not occur and coloration was not affected. At this temperature, treatments of hot water and 1-MCP did not show a significant effect on the maintenance of the fruit quality compared to control.