Quality of 'Kensington' mango (Mangifera indica Linn.) fruit following combined vapour heat disinfestation and hot water disease control treatments

Changes in the quality of 'Kensington' mangoes from the two major production regions in Queensland were measured after either a vapour heat treatment (VHT) in which seed surface temperature was held at 47 degrees C for 15 min, or a hot water (HW) disease control treatment of 53 degrees C for 5 min prior to VHT, combined with either storage at 10 degrees C for 5 days followed by 22 degrees C for 5 days or storage at 22 degrees C for 10 days. Heat-treated mangoes had higher skin colour ratings, reflectance and chroma values, and lower hue angles than untreated fruit, indicating an enhancement of ripening. The severity of lenticel spotting and skin browning was increased in VHT fruit. Eating quality of the fruit was not altered by any of the heat treatments. The HW + VHT treatment combined with continuous storage at 22 degrees C produced the highest quality fruit, and is recommended for air freight marketing. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.