ISHS Acta Horticulturae 343: Physiological Basis of Postharvest Technologies
RIPENING INITIATION AND STORAGE PERFORMANCE OF AVOCADOS TREATED WITH AN EDIBLE-FILM COATING. |
| Authors: | R.J. Bender, J.K. Brecht, S.A. Sargent, J.C. Navarro, C.A. Campbell |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.1993.343.41 |
| Abstract:
Coating preclimacteric Booth #7 avocados (Persea americana) with NatureSeal, a polysaccharide-based edible film, delayed ripening at 20C by about two days even when coated fruits were treated with 100 ppm ethylene for up to 3 days; however 4 days of ethylene treatment overcame the ripening delay. Coating applied to initiated fruits had no effect on subsequent ripening. Following commercial application to late harvested avocados (Brooks Late) and storage for 4 weeks at 5C, the coated fruits showed a consistent tendency for better storage performance. Each week, samples from both coated and uncoated treatments were transferred to 20C and analyzed daily during the following week for flesh firmness, respiration rate, and ethylene production. Coated avocados exhibited lower respiration rate, lower ethylene production and higher flesh firmness than uncoated fruits, although the differences were not statistically significant. Internal O2 and CO2 levels were 15.2 and 3.7%, respectively, in uncoated avocados, and 10.2 and 10.1%, respectively, in coated avocados, suggesting that a modified atmosphere effect on ripening may explain the action of the coating on avocado ripening. | |
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