QUALITY CURVES FOR MANGO FRUIT (CV. TOMMY ATKINS AND PALMER) STORED AT CHILLING AND NONCHILLING TEMPERATURES

Abstract

ABSTRACT “Tommy Atkins” and “Palmer” mangoes were harvested medium‐ripe held for 7–20 days at five different temperatures and evaluated for quality attributes. The objective of this work was to obtain quality curves at chilling and nonchilling temperatures and to identify, for each temperature, which quality factors limit mango marketability. Chilling injury and increased fruit softness were the limiting quality factors for mango stored at 2 and 5C. Softening of the fruit, changes in color and development of decay were the limiting quality factors for mango stored at 12, 15 and 20C. Prediction of mango shelf life calculated from the data reported in the literature is not precise unless the characteristics of the fruit and environmental factors involved are well known. The curves obtained from quality evaluations for each temperature showed that a single quality attribute cannot be used to express loss of quality of mango over the normal physiological range of temperatures.