Influence of Storage on Fruit Quality and the Appearance in Recent Medium and Late Ripening Citrus

Abstract

The influence of 2-3 months storage at 5 ± 1 °C and 85 ± 4 % or > 98 % relative humidity conditions with or without prestorage conditioning treatment was investigated in recent cultivars of medium and late ripening citrus. The concentration of soluble solids increased slightly during storage. Acidity decreased rapidly in ‘Imamura’ Satsuma mandarin, ‘Harumi’, ‘Setoka’ and ‘Hareyaka’, while ‘Kiyomi’ and ‘Shiranuhi’ showed small changes in acidity. Prestorage conditioning treatment decelerated the rate of decrease in soluble solids and acid in ‘Shiranuhi’ and ‘Hareyaka’. Prestorage conditioning treatment promoted the occurrence of rind disorder in all cultivars except ‘Harumi’. Severe rind disorder occurred in ‘Kiyomi’ and ‘Hareyaka’. Though the storage relative humidity did not influence the appearance or internal quality of the fruit, higher humidity decreased fresh weight loss contributing to maintaining the freshness of stored fruit.
‘Kiyomi’ fruit were stored at 5 ± 1 °C for three months then transferred to ambient conditions (approximately 25 °C) to investigate responses to shipping after storage. Rind disorder occurred promptly within one week. However, wiping the moisture off the fruit surfaces when transferring could prevent or delay the ocurrence.