MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING ENABLES PROLONGED STORAGE OF ‘FUERTE’ AVOCADO FRUIT

The effect of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on the keeping quality of ‘Fuerte’ avocado fruit during prolonged storage was studied.
Experiments were performed at 5°C, using 40 x 70 cm polyethylene (PE) bags of 30 μm thickness.
Elevated (5–7%) concentrations of CO₂, combined with reduced (3–5%) oxygen concentrations within the bags, probably made possible the prolonged fruit storage at 5°C for 8 weeks, without appearance of any significant chilling injury (CI). In addition, the MAP storage significantly reduced fruit weight loss.
Thus, at the end of a 6.5-week storage period at 5°C and an additional shelf-life period at 20°C until ripening, fruit sealed in MAP lost only 5% of their initial weight, whereas unpacked fruit lost about 11%. Ethylene accumulated within the sealed bags to a concentration around 0.2 μl/l, which did not affect fruit ripening.
Results of this study suggest that MAP can be a reliable method for commercial storage of ‘Fuerte’ avocado fruit when a storage period of up to 8 weeks is desired.

International Postharvest Science Conference Postharvest 96

S. Meir, D. Naiman, J.Y. Hyman, M. Akerman, G. Zauberman, Y. Fuchs

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.464.61