Modified atmosphere and modified humidity packaging alleviates chilling injury symptoms in mango fruit.
Pesis E., Aharoni D., Aharon Z., Ben-Arie R., Aharoni N., Fuchs Y.
Author Affiliation: Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, POB 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
Postharvest Biology and Technology 19 : 93-101
Abstract : Storage of mango (cultivars Tommy Atkins and Keitt) fruits at 12°C caused slight chilling injury (CI) symptoms on the fruit peel, expressed as red spots around the lenticels (lenticel spotting). A modified atmosphere (~5% CO2 and ~10% O2) was created in 4-kg film-lined cartons by using microperforated polyethylene (PE) or Xtend film (XF). For Keitt fruits, a similar atmosphere was also applied using controlled atmosphere chambers. After 3 weeks of storage at 12°C plus one week at 20°C, both modified and controlled atmosphere treatments were effective in reducing CI. The most effective reduction was found in fruits packed in the XF film. A second advantage of using XF film was the reduction in the level of sap inside the package due to the lower relative humidity in the XF film (~90%) compared with that of PE packaging (~99%).