earticle

영어

Greenhouse satsuma mandarins (Citrus unshiu Marc., cv. Gungchun) of an early harvesting cultivar were treated by hot water showering at 65oC for 10 s at a commercial scale in a packing house and then stored at 5oC for 3 weeks and subsequently at 18oC for 1 week (simulated shelf-life) to examine the potential use of hot water treatment (HWT) as an environmentally benign method to maintain mandarin quality characteristics during postharvest storage and sale. The respiration rate just after heat treatment or during storage was at a similar level in both the treated and untreated fruit. HWT also had no detrimental effects on quality attributes including pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids content, weight loss, firmness, and peel color. The development of stem-end rot, mold decay, and black rot was lower in the heattreated fruit compared to those in the untreated control. A sensory evaluation showed that HWT markedly improved fruit appearance, making the fruit cleaner and glossier. The results suggested that HWT can be applied to satsuma mandarin as an effective pretreatment to maintain postharvest quality during storage and marketing.