The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of different periods of refrigeration preceding the establishment of controlled atmosphere (CA), on the postharvest quality and conservation of 'Fuyu' persimmon (Diospyrus kaki L.). Fruits from a commercial orchard located in Caxias do Sul-RS, harvested in 2002, were collected at the yellow-orange skin color stage. The cooling process was applied at a commercial chamber with 0 ± 0.5ºC and 95 ±3% RU, for periods of 24, 48 and 72 hours, before the establishment of the CA conditions (8% CO2 and 2% O2). The fruits were evaluated at the harvest, and on the 7th, 14th, 21st, 28th, 35th and 42nd days in controlled atmosphere, followed by three days of shelf-life (20 ± 3°C, 75 ± 5% RU). The fruits refrigerated for 48 hours showed poor evolution on the skin color during storage. In SST content, pulp firmness and skin browning were not influenced by any cooling period. The postharvest conservation and quality of the fruits were not influenced by the different periods of refrigeration before stored in AC.
Postharvest; skin browning; storage; Diospyros kaki