To reduce the New Zealand avocado {Persea
americana Mill.) industry's strong dependence on
Australian markets, alternative Pacific Rim markets
are being developed. In doing so, a low cost system
is required to transport fruit greater distances without
sacrificing fruit quality. Part of this system will
need to minimise increased fruit mass loss associated
with longer transit time.
After harvest, horticultural products lose mass
predominantly through water loss (transpiration) but
also through carbon loss associated with respiration
(Gaffhey et al. 1985). To compensate for mass loss
associated with extended transportation and storage
periods, packhouses would need to over-pack trays,
thereby adding to costs of production. In addition,
mass loss can have a number of adverse effects on
fruit quality, including faster ripening (Littmann
1972; Adato & Gazit 1974; Cutting & Wolstenholme
1992; Joyce et al. 1995) and increased incidence of
physiological disorders and rots (Bower et al. 1989;
Cutting & Wolstenholme 1992). Technologies used
in other crops to reduce mass loss, principally
through their effects on water loss, have included low
temperature storage, high relative humidity storage,
tray liners, and surface coatings (Wills et al. 1989);
the main focus of this paper is on the last of these
options.