DYNAMIC CA-STORAGE FOR THE QUALITY ASSURANCE OF PEPINO (SOLANUM MURICATUM AIT.)

Mature and ripe
pepinos (Solanum muricatum Ait.) were
stored under different dynamic CA storage conditions (DCA) at either 5°C
or 10°C (RH 95%) for up to 21 days.One group of
mature fruit and two groups of ripe fruit (6 fruit per treatment) were stored
under a DCA with 5% O₂ and 15% CO₂ (DCAI) for mature
fruit and 5% O₂ and 20% CO₂ (DCAII) for ripe fruit for
the first two days of storage.
For another 19 days, O₂ and CO₂
concentrations were each kept constant at 5%. One group of ripe pepinos was
stored under another DCA with 5% O₂ and 20% CO₂ for 7
days and 5% O₂ and 5% CO₂ for another 7 days (DCAIII). A
control group of mature and ripe pepinos was stored separately at 5°C in air
for up to 21 days.
Mature fruit showed lower chroma, higher skin firmness, and
higher disaccharide/monosaccharide ratio than ripe fruit.
Storing mature pepino fruit under DCAI resulted in a
retention of fruit color (chroma), a higher skin firmness, and a higher ratio compared with the fruit stored without CA (5°C).
Ripe fruit stored under DCAII and DCAIII also showed a lower decrease in chroma
and in skin firmness, and a higher carbohydrate ratio after 21 days of storage
compared with those in air.
The different DCA treatments did not significantly
affect the quality attributes of ripe pepinos.
A storage life of three weeks
can be recommended for ripe fruit stored under DCA.

VIII International Controlled Atmosphere Research Conference

H. Prono-Widayat, S. Huyskens-Keil, Lu

controlled atmosphere storage, ripening, color, firmness, carbohydrate, Solanum muricatum

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2003.600.60