Undesirable effect of ethylene: Accelerated senescence
Accelerated ripening
Loss of green colour
Abscission of florets
Toughening
Poor flavor
The symptoms of chilling injury are as follows: If fruits and vegetables are stored at a temperature below their optimum temperature will subject to chilling injury (Table 4). Therefore for maintaining proper quality the produce should be stored at the recommended temperature and relative humidity conditions (Table 5).
Table 4: Chilling injury symptoms of different fruits
Commodity Lowest safe temperature oC Chilling injury symptoms
Apple 2-3 Soft scald, brown core
Bananas 12-13 Dull colour when ripened
Guavas 4-5 Pulp injury, decay
Lemon 11-13 Pitting, membrane staining
Mango 10-13 Uneven ripening, grayish skin
Ber 7.5 Surface pitting, appearance of brown streaks on the peel