Low temperature storage enhances subsequent softening of kiwifruit at high temperature
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Date
1999
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Abstract
The effect of low temperature storage on ripening capacity of kiwifruit was studied on fruit from four different orchards in the Curico area of Chile. The fruit was stored at 0 degrees C for 0, 10, 25 and 35 days and ripened for 10 days at 20 degrees C in an atmosphere free of ethylene. Fruit firmness was assessed at the end of the ripening period and ethylene production quantified after 5 and 10 days of ripening. Fruit harvested and ripened without a period of 0 degrees C storage did not soften at 20 degrees C but a pattern of softening was obtained in all orchards with increased days of storage at low temperature. The average rate of softening was 0.67, 1.65 and 2.27 Newtons day(-1) at 20 degrees C after a period of 10, 25 and 35 days of storage at 0 degrees C respectively. The ethylene production rate was low through 35 days of storage, after which it increased to between 1.1 and 28 mu L Kg(-1) hr(-1).