COLD STORAGE OF FLORDAGOLD PEACH

Abstract

?Flordagold? is a peach, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, cultivar that was introduced to México, where there is little information about its post-harvest behavior. In this experiment, we evaluated the response of fruits of this cultivar to cool storage at 2 and 5 °C and 85 % RH for two and four weeks. After storage, fruits were kept at normal conditions (20 °C, 50 to 60 % RH). At days zero, three and six after storage, fruits were analyzed for weight loss, firmness, malic acid content, total soluble solids, color, moisture, mealiness and severity of fruit rots. Results showed that this cultivar had a high sensitivity to fruit weight loss (19.5 %), especially after storage of four-weeks at 5 °C. After the four-week storage period, followed by six days at ambient temperature, there was a reduction in fruit firmness and malic acid content, and an increase in total soluble solids and color. Mealiness and fruit rots were higher at 2 °C.