Developing fruits of Momordica chamntia, known as bitter melon, bitter gourd or balsam pear, were harvested at horticultural maturity and stored up to 14 days in humidified air at different temperatures. Respiration rates of fruits at 20 and 10°C were approximately 40 and 15 ~1 CO2 g-l h-l, respectively. Ethylene production rates at these temperatures were O.l-0.3 nl g-l h-l. Fruits stored for >8 days at 7.5"C showed severe chilling symptoms (decay, pitting and discoloration) and typical chill-induced respiratory and ethylene production increases after transfer to 15°C. Fruit quality was best maintained if bitter melon were stored at 10 and 12S"C. Fruits at 15°C continued to develop, showing undesirable changes including seed development, loss of green color, and fruit splitting. Immature fruit maintained postharvest quality better than fruit harvested at the fully developed green stage. Bitter melon stored at 15°C in controlled atmospheres (21, 5 or 2.5% 02 in combination with 0, 2.5, 5 or 10% COZ) were not different in quality from air-stored fruits at 2 weeks. Fruits stored 3 weeks in 2.5 or 5% CO* in combination with 2.5% 02 showed greater retention of green color and had less decay and splitting than air-stored fruit.
The Asian specialty vegetables bitter melon, fuzzy melon, luffa and yard-long bean require good temperature management during postharvest handling to reduce deterioration and to a void chilling injury. These vegetables can be successfully marketed for 1 to 2 weeks if kept at 70" to 12.5"C (50 O to 55°F). Expanding production of specialty vegetables in the United States during the last decade is a result of increased ethnic diversity in our population, renewed emphasis on eating healthy foods, and the successful promotion of greater variety in our diets. Many California-grown specialty vegetables marketed locally and regionally originated in subtropical or tropical areas and are sensitive to chilling, a characteristic that challenges distributors to maintain quality. Four speaalty vegetables of Asian origin are considered here. Angled luffa or Chinese okra (Luffa acutanguln), a green-colored immature fruit with longitudinal ridges or ribs, is consumed much like summer squash. Ma
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.