Postharvest behavior of feijoa fruit (Acca sellowiana Berg) subjected to different 1-MCP doses and storage temperatures

Abstract

Feijoa is a promising crop in Colombia with high export potential. However, its postharvest shelf-life is short since it is a climacteric fruit with high respiration rates and susceptibility to fruit flies. Techniques such as refrigeration and the use of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) increase the post-harvest period and prolong fruit quality. The objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of different storage temperatures and 1-MCP doses on postharvest feijoa fruits. A completely randomized design with a 2x4 factorial arrangement was used, where the first factor was temperature (4 and 16 °C), and the second factor was the 1-MCP dose (0, 30, 60 and 90 µg L-1), for a total of eight treatments. The treatments at 4 °C presented lower values for mass loss and respiratory rate, while luminosity, chromaticity, soluble solids and antioxidant activity showed the highest values. The lowest 1-MCP doses at 4 °C had the highest values of titratable acidity and endocarp tone; on the contrary, the highest doses at 4 and 16 °C presented the highest values of phenolic compounds. The refrigerated feijoa fruits had a shelf-life between 36 and 42 days, while those stored at 16 °C only had commercial quality for 14 days, highlighting the importance of cold storage.