Storage of mango fruits cv. Rosa treated with calcium chloride after harvest at different maturity stages.
Santos A. F. dos, Silva S. de M., Mendonça R. M. N., Alves R. E., Martins L. P.
Author Affiliation: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA)/UFPB, CEP 58397-000, Areia, PB, Brazil.
: 663-670
Abstract : Mango cv. Rosa fruits were harvested from an orchard in Areia, Paraí, Brazil, at 2 maturity stages, i.e. mature green (green-yellowish skin colour, 1-25% non-green surface area) and pre-climacteric (yellow-greenish skin colour, 51-75% non-green surface area), and immersed (5-cm deep) in calcium chloride solution (0.0 (control), 4.0 and 8.0%) for one hour. Fruits were stored at 10±1°C and 85% relative humidity (RH) for 20 days, followed by a 5-day storage at room temperature (24±2°C). Fruit firmness, weight loss, skin colour (scores 1-7), external and internal appearances (scores 1-6), total soluble solids (TSS) and total titratable acidity (TTA) were evaluated. Calcium chloride was notably more effective when applied to pre-climacteric fruits. However, fruits treated with 4.0% calcium chloride had black spots and soaked areas on the surface, and decay, especially the pre-climacteric fruits. Compared to the controls, 8.0% calcium chloride treatment provided a 5-day increase in shelf life of mature green fruits stored at 10±1°C. Upon transferring to room temperature, 8.0% calcium chloride provided the lowest weight losses while maintaining TSS/TTA, fruit firmness and best internal and external appearances though, no significant delay on skin colour development was detected.