ISHS Acta Horticulturae 297: II International Symposium on Kiwifruit
INFLUENCE OF STORAGE CONDITIONS ON SOFTENING OF THE COLUMELLA |
| Author: | A. Testoni |
| Keywords: | core, controlled atmosphere, firmness, ethylene, penetrometer |
| Abstract:
In Northern Italy a physiological disorder of kiwifruit after storage was frequently noticed; i.e. the non-softening of the core compared to that of the flesh ("hard columella"). Many observations showed a high incidence of hard-columella when controlled atmosphere (CA) storage was used particularly with early harvested fruit. A method to evaluate the firmness of the columella was studied using a special star- shaped plunger. The force required to pierce the core was then compared to the force required to pierce the flesh of a fruit. A trial was made comparing different storage conditions for two years, using different ‘Hayward’ orchards. The CA conditions used were 2% O2 and 4% CO2, and 5% O2 and 8% CO2, both with or without ethylene removal. Significant differences were found between fruit stored in normal atmospheres with ethylene removal and fruit stored in CA. The highest incidence of hard-columella fruit was found in ethylene-free CA under both high and low CO2 concentrations. The interactions between CO2 level and ethylene removal in CA appears to prevent the core from undergoing normal softening. | |
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