Fruit weight loss during storage without perfo-
rated plastic bags was higher at 10 ºC than at 7 or 5 ºC
(Figure 4). At all storage temperatures, fruit stored with
perforated plastic bags had lower weight loss after 20
days of storage. After shelf-life conditions, the highest
weight loss was observed in fruit previously stored at 10
ºC, with the highest values observed in fruit stored at 10
ºC without a perforated plastic bag. The weight loss was
greater during five days of shelf-life at 20 ºC than during
20 days of storage at 5, 7, or 10 ºC. These results are in
agreement with other studies showing that perforated
plastic bags can be used to reduce shriveling of crops
sensitive to water loss after harvest by maintaining high
relative humidity around the commodity (Crisosto et al.,
2001; Ben-Yehoshua and Rodov, 2003).
Although perforated plastic bags effectively re-
duced pitaya fruit weight loss during storage, it also in-
creased the percentage and severity of decay incidence in
the fruit. Pitaya fruit stored at 5 ºC without a perforated
plastic bag had no decay incidence after storage and shelf-
life conditions while there was 10 % decay in fruit stored
at 5 ºC in a bag (Figure 2). The use of perforated plastic
bags also increased the percentage of fruit showing decay
incidence during storage at 7 ºC and 10 ºC, as well as
decay severity at 10 ºC (Figure 2A and 2B). Transferring
pitaya fruit to 20 ºC after storage resulted in about 80 %
decay incidence in fruit stored at 5 ºC with a perforated
plastic bag, while fruit stored at 5 ºC without a perforated
bag had no decay. Fruit stored at 7 ºC and 10 ºC with and
without a perforated plastic bag had 100 % decay inci-
dence after five days at 20 ºC (Figure 2A). Storing pitaya
fruit in perforated plastic bags resulted in increased decay