Respiration properties of tree-ripe mango under CA condition.
Nakamura N., Rao D. V. S., Shiina T., Nawa Y.
Author Affiliation: Food Engineering Division, National Food Research Institute, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8642, Japan.
JARQ, Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly 38 : 221-226
Abstract : Respiration rate is the necessary parameter for designing the storage conditions. The effects of storage temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25°C) and gas composition on the O2 consumption and CO2 production were studied by using the flow through system. The ratio of the respiration rate under controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions (1.6-20.7% O2, 0.2-10.2% CO2, balanced with N2) were calculated against the values under normal air condition. It was found that a decrease in O2 concentration suppressed O2 uptake at each temperature involving an increase of the respiratory quotient. On the other hand, an increase in CO2 concentration up to 10% suppressed both O2 uptake and CO2 output at 5-15°C with almost a constant respiratory quotient. Thus, low temperature combined with CA having 5-10% CO2 will be effective to suppress the respiration rate of tree-ripe 'Irwin' mango fruit, and O2 should be higher than 5% to avoid anaerobic respiration.