• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.283-287
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• 2004

Persimmons suffer from such physiological disorders as flesh softening, peel blackening, and flesh browning, which occur rapidly particularly when exposed to ambient temperature after storage at low temperature, In this study causes of these disorders were examined in terms of respiration and ethylene production of the fruits. Jelly-like flesh softening, considered as symptom of chilling injury, rapidly developed within 3 days of exposure to ambient temperature without modified atmosphere (MA) packaging after low temperature storage. Disorder development was more suppressed at $30^{\circ}C$ than at $20^{\circ}C$; such temperature dependence is closely connected to ethylene production rate of fruits at both temperatures. Inhibition of ethylene production through MA packaging effectively reduced disorder development, which indicates ethylene production is closely related to jelly-like flesh softening disorder. Development of black-staining on peels occurs in fruits exposed directly to ambient temperature, but not in those packaged with thick PE-film. Flesh browning developed only under anaerobic respiration condition of high temperature and MA packaging with thick PE film, and occurred at quick reduction of available oxygen inside MA package at high temperature.