Sensitivity of Haden, Kent, Palmer, and Keitt Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Fruits to Ambient and Transit Temperature Storage Conditions for Ripening and Shelf-life Studies

Background: The Ghanaian mango industry relies heavily on Florida cultivars (Haden, Kent, Palmer, and Keitt) for fresh and processed mangoes traded locally and for export. Haden, Kent, Palmer, and Keitt mango cultivars all perform well under the climatic conditions in Ghana.

Purpose: Physiologically matured fruits of Haden, Kent, Palmer, and Keitt mango varieties were used for the experiment. The fruits were held at ambient (29-31oC) and simulated transit temperature (10-13oC) conditions for ripening and shelf life studies. Quality, which includes fruit firmness, ripening, weight, and spoilage, was assessed and used to determine the ripening quality and shelf life of stored fruits.

Research Method: A Completely Randomized Design with four replications was used. For each of the four varieties, five mango trees were sampled at random in each of the four replications of a mango plantation when fruits were physiologically matured. Fruits were randomly picked from these sample trees to accomplish the objectives of the study. A computerized texture analyzer (TA-XT2) was used to determine fruit firmness and the ‘bio-yield point’ of the mangoes by penetration.

Findings: For both ambient and simulated-transit temperature conditions, Kent (4.09 days and 3.85 days, respectively) and Keitt (4.08 days and 3.92 days, respectively) fruits stored longer. Haden fruits ripened significantly earlier (9.50 days and 3.5 days, respectively) than Keitt fruits (11.01 days and 5 days, respectively). Ripening time was statistically not different (p>0.05) among Haden, Kent, and Palmer fruits. Softness, color, and decay were limiting quality factors for all mango fruits stored at both temperature conditions. Higher shriveling rates were observed in Haden and Palmer fruits with a slight preponderance of the former, for both conditions. Average weight loss was highest (6.50 % and 3.31%, respectively) for Haden and lowest (4.09% and 2.34%, respectively) for Keitt, but generally lower in fruits stored under transit conditions.

Conclusion: The study concluded that Kent and Keitt fruits store better than Haden and Palmer fruits under both ambient and transit conditions and are therefore recommendable for sea freight or for longer distances where relatively much time is spent before delivery, while Haden and Palmer fruits are recommendable for air freight. The attributes obtained from the quality evaluations for the different temperature regimes showed that a single quality attribute cannot be used to express the loss of quality of mango fruit over the normal physiological range of mango fruit growth and development.

Research Limitations: No limitations to the report.

Originality/Value: A single quality attribute cannot be used to express loss of quality of mango fruit over the normal physiological range of mango fruit growth and development.