Simulating in-transit ripening of ‘Honey Gold™’ mango fruit to predict quality outcomes

Currently, Australian commercial mangoes supplied for domestic markets involve artificially ripening fruit with ethylene (C₂H₄) in ripening centres located ~3000 km from northern production areas.
An alternative is to use existing refrigerated road and/or rail transport trailer infrastructure to initiate mango ripening in-transit, potentially reducing costly fruit storage and ripening at the markets.
A range of transit temperatures and gas combinations were compared in simulations of in-transit ripening for ‘Honey Gold™’ mango fruit.
Treatment effects on fruit quality and time to eating soft were assessed.
Experiments were conducted for two harvest seasons with fruit from three growing regions.
Air, C₂H₄, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) were supplied in flow-through systems.
Treatments were 0, 1, 4 and 8% CO₂, 0, 20 and 80 µL L^‑1 C₂H₄, and 18, 22 and 26°C. Treatment duration was 4 days, a typical transport time from northern growing regions to southern ripening and distribution centres in Australia.
Fruit exposed to 20 and 80 µL L^‑1 C₂H₄ and 22 and 26°C reached eating ripe before those without exogenous C₂H₄ at 18°C. The higher C₂H₄ concentrations of 20 and 80 µL L^‑1 and temperature of 22 and 26°C obviated negative impacts of elevated CO₂ on skin colour and total soluble solids.
Regression models were simplified by removing non-significant terms to develop an Excel™ quality prediction model.
This decision aid tool may be adopted to predict changes in fruit quality parameters in response to temperature, C₂H₄ and CO₂ prevailing during in-transit ripening.

XXXI International Horticultural Congress (IHC2022): International Symposium on Postharvest Technologies to Reduce Food Losses

K.J.M. Mott, A.T. Lisle, D.C. Joyce, P.J. Hofman, A.J. Macnish, B. Bhandari, R.L. Cave

postharvest, ethylene, carbon dioxide, storage, modelling, fruit firmness

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1364.43