Response of Mango Fruit to Potassium Permanganate as an Ethylene Absorbent during Storage

Abstract

Mango fruit of `Palmer' and `Keitt' were harvested at the preclimacteric stage. An inexpensive ethylene absorbent was made by mixing aqueous KMnO4 with vermiculite and silicagel as support material. Fruits were treated with the mixture of vermiculite–KMnO4 and silicagel–KMnO4 as ethylene absorbents and stored at 10 and 15°C for 18 days. Fruits were evaluated for skin and pulp color, total soluble solids, titratable acidity and weight loss at interval of 3 days. Ethylene absorbents had no significant effect on skin color parameters (lightness, hue, and chroma). However differences due to ethylene absorbents and temperature storage were evident on pulp color parameters. Soluble solids content and titratable acidity were affected by ethylene absorbent and temperature storage. The percent of weight loss increased with temperature and with duration of storage.