Controlled atmospheres for Kensington mango storage: classical atmospheres.
McLauchlan R. L., Barker L. R.
Author Affiliation: Horticulture Postharvest Group, Queensland Department of Primary Industries, 19 Hercules St, Hamilton, Queensland 4007, Australia.
: 41-44
Abstract : Mango cv. Kensington fruits were stored under 36 different atmospheres (2, 4, 5, 6, 8 or 10% O2 + 0, 2, 4, 6, 8 or 10% CO2) (control fruits were held in air) at 13°C for 33 days. Colour development was linearly retarded by decreasing O2 (from 10 to 2%) and increasing CO2 (from 0 to 4% only, no further effect from 4 to 10%) concentrations. Fruits from low-O2 atmospheres also had high titratable acidity contents after storage, but after 5 days at ambient conditions, these fruits continued to develop typical external colour and metabolize acid, thereby increasing palatability. Fruits from all atmospheres were soft after storage. Within the concentrations studied, the optimum atmosphere appeared to be around 4% CO2 + 2-4% O2 but the data does suggest that further research is required below 2% O2 and above 10% CO2, as well as at lower storage temperatures to control softening.