Fruit firmness is often the first of many quality major attributes
judged by the consumer and is, therefore, extremely important in
overall product acceptance. Guava suffers a rapid loss of firmness
during senescence which contributes greatly to its short postharvest life and susceptibility to fungal contamination. Changes in flesh
firmness between control and coated fruit samples during 12 days
of storage at 11
◦
C are shown in Fig. 1A. Initial flesh firmness values
were similar for control and coated samples. On the third day of
storage uncoated guavas began to show a gradual loss of firmness.
The firmness of coated guavas also decreased progressively