ISHS Acta Horticulturae 518: XXV International Horticultural Congress, Part 8: Quality of Horticultural Products
EFFECTS OF LIQUID CALCIUM AND CONTROL ATMOSPHERE ON STORABILITY AND QUALITY OF KIWIFRUIT (Actinidia chininsis Planch cv. ‘Hayward’) |
| Authors: | F.M. Basiouny, A. Basiouny |
| Keywords: | Shelf-life, postharvest physiology, fruit quality, cold storage |
| Abstract:
Ten uniform kiwifruit vines cv. 'Hayward' were selected. Five vines received 3 applications of liquid calcium (“NutriCal” 8% soluble Ca) at a rate of 9.33 l/ha. from fruit set until 10 days before harvest. The other five were used as control. Fruits were harvested when soluble solids content reached about 8.0%. After harvest and precooling, the fruits were divided into 4 groups of 75 fruits each. Two groups, Ca treated and non-treated, were subjected to control atmosphere (CA) of elevated CO2 (10%) and reduced O2 (3%) for 8 weeks at 3 + 2°C and 90 – 95% relative humidity. Samples were taken biweekly to determine fruit quality. Both CA and Ca improved storability and quality of kiwifruit. After 8 weeks in cold storage, fruits which were subjected to CA and received Ca were firmer and of better quality than non-treated fruits. CO2 and Ca treatments induced variable effects on some internal fruit quality parameters such as soluble solids content, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid. The percent of marketable fruits was higher in CA and Ca-treated compared to control fruits kept under the same refrigerated conditions. It was concluded that the effects of CA on the fruits were more pronounced than the effects of Ca. | |
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