Storage temperature and relative humidity management
The function of a fruit or vegetable storage is to provide an environment that will permit produce to be stored as long as possible without deterioration of quality, which is a composition of flavor, texture, moisture content, and other factors associated with edibility. A desirable environment can be obtained by controlling the temperature and composition of the atmosphere (Berard et al., 1990).
When fruits and vegetables are harvested, they are removed from their source of water and nutrition and soon start to deteriorate. Harvesting stimulates metabolic changes associated with ripening and senescence. The quality and storage life of fruits and vegetables may be seriously affected within a few hours of harvest if the crop has not been pre cooled promptly to control deterioration. All other factors in handling and storage are of secondary importance. However, factors other than temperature, also affect the storage environment (Berard et al., 1990). According to Zhou et al. (1997), room and forced-air cooling are commonly used for papaya.