DISCUSSION
Seal packaging citrus fruits with a thin
microperforated film of High Density Polyethylene
(HDPE) have more than doubled their life.
Microperforated of HDPE bags inhibited weight loss
and softening even more than cooling, which is accepted
as the best treatment for extending fruit life.
Among the various techniques development to
extend fruit life after harvest is the use of plastic films,
which maintain the freshness and quality of fruits and
vegetables during storage [8, 13]. The results for 10 weeks
of storage at 10°C support those report by Hewett and
Thompson [14] and Watkins and Thompson, [15] with
benefits of microperforated polybags on fruit quality
when compared with quality of fruit from no polybags.
After 10 weeks storage at 10°C might allow use of
microperforated polybags without development of low
temperature disorders. The studies reported here
indicated that microperforation polyethylene film is of less
importance than storage temperature in the keeping
quality of seal-packaged fruit. However, polyethylene bag
permeability to water vapor and respiratory gases is
influenced by chemical composition of the film as well as