Development of chilling injury in New Zealand grown ‘Fuyu’ persimmon during storage

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Abstract
Fruit of ‘Fuyu’ persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) were harvested from commercial orchards and stored in 1984–1986. Fruit maturation varied considerably between the three seasons, in particular in the relationship between soluble solids concentration, loss of astringency, and colour development. Development of chilling injury (CI) in fruit during storage varied with season, harvest time, and storage treatment. Fruit harvested in 1984 stored longer without CI at 0°C than fruit harvested in 1985 or 1986. In 1986 fruit harvested late in the season had less CI than those harvested early. Both preconditioning of fruit and storage in a modified atmosphere (MA) formed by polyethylene bags (polybags) ameliorated chilling damage. Respiration rates of fruit held at 20 °C after 0°C storage closely correlated with chilling damage; injured fruit showed higher respiration rates. Fruit stored in MA showed a relationship between oxygen level during cool storage and development of CI; high O2 levels (14–20%) allowed greater CI. Fruit stored at 4°C developed more severe CI than those stored at 0°C. New Zealand grown ‘Fuyu’ will store at 0°C for at least 4 weeks in MA polybags. This is a much shorter storage time than that for Japanese grown ‘Fuyu’. The occurrence of chilling injury in New Zealand grown ‘Fuyu’ may be related to an effect of climatic conditions on fruit development, with tree age perhaps playing a secondary role.

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