Articles
Testing the performance of exogenous ethylene application on ripening of hot water treated imported mangos (Mangifera indica)
Article number
1415_38
Pages
325 – 332
Language
English
Abstract
Ripening protocols have been developed to deliver ‘ready to eat’ climacteric fruits such as avocados, kiwifruit, and stone fruit.
The biological roles of ethylene and temperature on ripening changes including softening are the bases for the design of successful commercial ‘ready to eat’ protocols.
These protocols, when well executed, allow fruit to ripen evenly, and express their maximum flavor at the retail stores and increase consumption.
Recent detailed observations on imported mangos arriving to the Netherlands and the United States, mostly hot water-treated, suggested that exogenous ethylene may not be required.
Our hypothesis was that the role of exogenous ethylene on imported mango ripening varies depending on mango ripening stages.
Thus, imported mangos are either producing endogenous ethylene (physiologically mature), and/or have been exposed to exogenous ethylene from other mangos, during handling and transportation from production to consumption areas, and undergoing different stages of ripening.
We discovered that exogenous ethylene treatment was not necessary to ripen imported hot water treated mangos because the ripening process was triggered by the increase of temperature during the hot water treatment allowing ‘ready to transfer or buy’ and/or ‘ready to eat’ stages to be reached within one to three days upon store arrival.
The use of ethylene application during the ripening protocol requires extra facilities, equipment, and handling costs.
In addition, ethylene application triggers softening of immature fruit that can affect consumer acceptance.
We propose enforcing maturity quality standards to ensure consumer quality, proper packaging to avoid bruising, and sorting to segregate mangos into different ripening stages prior to ripening and fruit delivery to retail stores.
The biological roles of ethylene and temperature on ripening changes including softening are the bases for the design of successful commercial ‘ready to eat’ protocols.
These protocols, when well executed, allow fruit to ripen evenly, and express their maximum flavor at the retail stores and increase consumption.
Recent detailed observations on imported mangos arriving to the Netherlands and the United States, mostly hot water-treated, suggested that exogenous ethylene may not be required.
Our hypothesis was that the role of exogenous ethylene on imported mango ripening varies depending on mango ripening stages.
Thus, imported mangos are either producing endogenous ethylene (physiologically mature), and/or have been exposed to exogenous ethylene from other mangos, during handling and transportation from production to consumption areas, and undergoing different stages of ripening.
We discovered that exogenous ethylene treatment was not necessary to ripen imported hot water treated mangos because the ripening process was triggered by the increase of temperature during the hot water treatment allowing ‘ready to transfer or buy’ and/or ‘ready to eat’ stages to be reached within one to three days upon store arrival.
The use of ethylene application during the ripening protocol requires extra facilities, equipment, and handling costs.
In addition, ethylene application triggers softening of immature fruit that can affect consumer acceptance.
We propose enforcing maturity quality standards to ensure consumer quality, proper packaging to avoid bruising, and sorting to segregate mangos into different ripening stages prior to ripening and fruit delivery to retail stores.
Publication
Authors
A.M. Velasquez, C.H. Crisosto
Keywords
‘ready to ripen’, ‘ready to eat’, firmness variability, temperature management, sorting, consumer quality
Groups involved
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