Reduced chilling injury and delayed fruit ripening in tomatoes with modified atmosphere and humidity packaging

Abstract

Abstract To prolong shelf life and reduce chilling injury of tomato, the effects of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on tomato were investigated using Xtend MA/MH bulk packaging (XF) and polyethylene (PE) bags during storage at 4 °C and 12 °C for 14 days and under shelf-life conditions at 20 °C. The O2 concentrations in PE bags stored at 4 °C and 12 °C were 19.9–20.3% and 20.6–20.9%, respectively, whereas those in the XF package were reduced to 14.9–16.7% and 17.8–18.5%, respectively. The XF package showed a higher CO2 content (4.2–7.3%) than PE (0.5–1.2%) packages stored at 4 °C and 12 °C. Relative humidity (RH) was saturated within the PE bags but not within XF after 7 days of storage. MAP retarded the ripening process and delayed colour development compared to the non-packaged control during cold storage. In particular, XF effectively reduced the pitting score and decay rate of fruits stored at 4 °C for 14 days and transferred to 20 °C for 3–8 days, and increased gene expression of protease inhibitor II and catalase. Enhanced CO2 and reduced O2 levels and optimal RH (95%) provided by modified atmosphere and humidity could be used to reduce chilling injury and extend the shelf life of tomatoes.