Aetiology and potential strategy for preventing post harvest physiological ailments in 'Heidi' mango fruit.
Kruger F. J., Louw M., Goodchild L.
Author Affiliation: Institute for Tropical and Subtropical Crops (ITSC), Private Bag X11208, Nelspruit 1200, South Africa.
Yearbook - South African Mango Growers' Association 16 : 12-16
Abstract : A study was conducted to define, research and recommend possible remedies for the postharvest problems of Heidi fruits. The first problem to be encountered during cold storage was the browning of the fruit pulp. Experiments with a range of coatings with varying oxygen permeability and ripening-retarding characteristics suggested that internal browning is not a chilling/heat injury caused by inappropriate hot water bath treatments or cold storage temperatures. It would rather seem that this cultivar is excessively prone to enzymatic oxidation, originating at the stem end (the indications are that the oxygen enters the fruit via the pedicel) of the fruit and spreading towards the blossom end. Substantial prolonging of the hot water bath treatment (15-20 min instead of 5 min) and lowering of the temperature (40°C instead of 47°), inhibited pulp browning in relatively green fruits. At these temperature:time permutations no fruit scalding was noticed and no external chilling injury occurred on the skin of fruits stored at 8 or 11°. The hot water bath did, however, accentuate blemishing. The major blemishes seemed to be sustained in the orchard and during harvesting.