Respiration properties of tree-ripe mango under CA condition

Respiration rate is the necessary parameter for designing the storage conditions. In the present investigation, the effects of storage temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25degreesC) and gas composition on the O-2 consumption and the CO2 production have been studied by using the flow through system. The ratio of the respiration rate under controlled atmosphere (CA) conditions (1.6 to 20.7% O-2, 0.2 to 10.2% CO2, balanced with N-2) were calculated against the values under normal air condition. As a result, it was found that a decrease in O-2 concentration suppressed O-2 uptake at each temperature involving an increase of the respiratory quotient. On the other hand, an increase in CO2 concentration up to 10% suppressed both O-2 uptake and CO2 output at 5-15degreesC with almost a constant respiratory quotient. Thus, low temperature combined with CA having 5-10% CO2 will be effective to suppress the respiration rate of tree-ripe 'Irwin' mango fruit, and O-2 should be higher than 5% to avoid anaerobic respiration.