Effect of harvest date and ripening degree on quality and shelf life of Hass avocado in Mexico

Abstract

-Introduction. Canada is an important avocado importer from Mexico. For most of the harvest season, fruit reach adequate pulp dry matter content, ripen properly and, consequently, quality and shelf life are excellent. However, after January, fruit dry matter content increases and blackened skin occurs. Shipments to Canada containing blackened fruit are rejected because this characteristic is wrongly associated with low pulp firmness and short shelf life. The objective of our research was to determine the effect of harvest time and ripening degree on initial quality and shelf life of Hass avocado. Materials and methods. Fruit were harvested from October 2007 to April 2008, and grouped into five ripening categories according to the degree of blackened skin. Fruit were then refrigerated for 7 d to simulate shipment to Canada. Thereafter, fruit were stored under simulated market conditions until they reached the edible ripening stage. Dry matter content was calculated only at the beginning of the storage period while quantification of weight loss, fruit with blackened skin, pulp firmness, and pulp color was done at the beginning of the storage period, at the end of the refrigeration period, and every three days during market conditions. Results and discussion. Dry matter content, skin color and pulp hue angle significantly increased with harvest date and ripening degree. Weight loss decreased with harvest date but increased with ripening degree, while firmness was affected by harvest date but was not associated with ripening degree. Conclusion. There is no reason to reject or downgrade blackened fruit, since quality and shelf life are not affected.Mexico / Persea americana / fruits / ripening / dry matter content / weight losses / color / peel / firmness Effet de la date de récolte et du degré de maturation sur la qualité et la durée de vie de l'avocat Hass au Mexique.Résumé -Introduction. Le Canada est un important importateur d'avocats en provenance du Mexique. Pour la plupart des saisons de récolte, les fruits atteignent une teneur adéquate en matière sèche de la pulpe, mûrissent correctement et, par conséquent, leur qualité et leur durée de vie sont excellentes. Toutefois, après janvier, la teneur en matière sèche des fruits augmente et un noircissement de la peau se produit. Les expéditions vers le Canada contenant des fruits noircis sont rejetées parce que cette caractéristique est faussement associée à une faible fermeté de la pulpe et une courte durée de conservation. L'objectif de notre recherche a été de déterminer l'effet de la date de récolte et du degré de maturation sur la qualité initiale et la durée de vie de l'avocat Hass. Matériel et méthodes. Des fruits ont été récoltés d'octobre 2007 à avril 2008 et regroupés en cinq catégories de maturation en fonction du degré de noircissement de la peau. Ces fruits ont été ensuite mis au réfri-gérateur pendant 7 jours pour simuler une expédition au Canada. Ensuite, les fruits ont été entreposés dans des conditions simulant leur mise en marché jusqu'à ...

Evaluation of the physicochemical and textural properties of pomelo fruit following storage

“…2 Thai Customs Department, Import-Export Statistics, http://www.customs.go.th/Statistic/StatisticResult2550.jsp?page=1&statType =export&month=12&year=2010&product-CodeCheck=Y&productCode=08054000001 &countryCheck=null&country=, consulted on 11 August 2011. they have implications for fruit handling and the design of processing equipment. In addition, the color properties of the rind, the texture of the internal flesh and certain other internal characteristics, such as the soluble solids content, acidity and the ratio of soluble solids to acidity, which is a measurement of the quality or flavor index of citrus fruits, were also assessed.…”

“…Thailand, for example, currently exports pomelo to countries in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar), Western Asia (Iran, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia) and Europe (Norway, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Switzerland), as well as the United States and Canada. In 2010, the exported quantity was 12,149,126 kg (129,464,307 Baht/4.3 million US$) 2 .…”

“…These studies have been performed on a variety of fruits such as the Granny Smith apple [1], Hass avocado [2], sunberry [3] and pomegranate [4]; before and after processing such as dabai fruit [5], and during storage such as Granny Smith apple [1], Hass avocado [2], and Palmer mangoes [6]. For citrus fruit, the Florida grapefruit [7], mandarin [8], Fortune mandarins [9], Navel oranges, Star Ruby grapefruit and Satsuma mandarins [10] during storage, and unripe oranges during processing [11], were studied.…”

Indicadores Preliminares De Madurez Fisiológica Y Comportamiento Postcosecha Del Fruto De Aguacate Méndez

“…En ambos cultivares de aguacate el cambio de color de la piel fue observado en todos los frutos a partir del muestreo del 12 de julio de 2012 (Cuadro 3). Además, todos los frutos alcanzaron la madurez de consumo entre 8 y 12 d después de la cosecha, lo cual fue similar a lo encontrado para Hass por Osuna-García et al (2010). Sin embargo, esto no ocurrió en fechas de muestreo anteriores (Cuadro 3), lo que indica que los procesos fisiológicos para alcanzar la madurez de consumo ocurren de forma similar a Hass (Cox et al, 2004).…”

Antioxidant and antihemolytic activity of lipid-soluble bioactive substances in avocado fruits

“…Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is an oleaginous fruit with high concentrations of monounsaturated fatty acids [3,4]. Previous studies showed that its fruits are a rich source of carotenoids, B group vitamins, ascorbic acid and tocopherols, and phenols [5][6][7].…”