Effects of Packaging after Ethylene Treatment on Soft Ripening and Fruit Cracking in 'Saijo' Persimmons (Diospyros kaki Thunb.)

Abstract

　After being stored for several weeks at 0℃, 'Saijo' persimmons were treated with 100 ppm ethylene in sealed containers for 48 hours at 20℃. Immediately after the ethylene treatment, the fruit were packaged in perforated polyethylene film bags and perforated containers and then kept for 4 days at 20℃. Packaging of the individual fruit in the perforated bags that had a perforation area of 39.3 mm² per persimmon significantly decreased the fruit cracking ratio. Packaging of the persimmons in a container that had a perforation area of 42.5 mm² per persimmon or in a container that had a perforation area of 137.8 mm² per persimmon also significantly decreased the fruit cracking ratio. A relatively high calyx abscission ratio and the greatest weight loss were observed in the persimmons packaged in the container that had a perforation area of 137.8 mm² per persimmon. From a practical point of view, packaging persimmons in a container with a perforation area of 42.5 mm² per persimmon or individual packaging of the fruit in a perforated bag with a perforation area of 39.3 mm² per persimmon seems to be the most useful method for inhibiting fruit cracking during the soft ripening of 'Saijo' persimmons.