Impact of rainfall rate and temperature during fruit development on chilling injury of Queen pineapples (Ananas comosus L.) during cold storage

Abstract

In this study, we investigated the impact of rainfall rate and temperature during fruit development on chilling injury (CI) of Queen pineapples (Ananas comosus L. Merr) after cold storage at 13 °C. The pineapples were induced to flower in October 2016 and May 2017. Rainfall and field temperature during fruit development were recorded. The fruit were harvested in March 2017 and October 2017 (135 d after anthesis), respectively. Visual appearance, CI score, lightness (L*) value, parameters related to membrane integrity, and the activities of enzymes related to browning of the tissue adjacent to the core were monitored in the fruit after 7 and 14 d of cold storage followed by room temperature storage (27 ± 1 °C) (RT) for 2 d. High CI incidence was associated with high rainfall rather than the field temperature (approx. 27–29 °C) during fruit development. The fruit harvested in March experienced higher rainfall during fruit development than the fruit harvested in October. The CI severity of the fruit harvested in March was greater than that of fruit harvested in October. The higher CI severity of the fruit harvested in March was accompanied with reduced membrane integrity as well as enzymatic browning compared to the fruit harvested in October. In conclusion, high rainfall during fruit development is a major factor for CI of Queen pineapple grown in tropical zones. The results of this investigation provide insight into the causes underlying the loss of fruit quality during storage and marketing.