Comparison of Waxing and Low Temperature Conditioning in Alleviating Chilling Injury of Pineapple (Ananas comosus L. 'Smooth Cayenne') Fruit

Medium-scale exporters of pineapple fruit experienced losses due to chilling injury during long distance refrigerated sea shipment to the Middle East. The effectivity of waxing using mineral oil or polyethylene-based wax and low temperature conditioning (LT, 3 d at 13 degrees C or 10 degrees C) of 'Smooth Cayenne' pineapple fruit was determined during extended storage of 28 d at 7.5 degrees C that simulated the duration of sea shipment from the Philippines to the Middle East. Waxing was more effective than low temperature conditioning in alleviating symptoms of chilling injury such as blackheart and flesh translucency in the case of internal symptoms and shell and crown leaf discoloration in the case of external symptoms. Waxing and continuous storage at 7.5 degrees C delayed peel color change, slowed the decline in visual quality, reduced weight loss and retained firmness of fruits. Low temperature conditioned fruit, on the other hand, exhibited faster rate of peel color change and decline in visual quality than waxed fruit. Moreover, disease incidence and severity caused by Ceratocystis paradoxa were higher in fruit conditioned at 13 degrees C or 10 degrees C than in waxed fruit. Both waxing and low temperature conditioning did not affect the total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and pH of fruit during storage at 7.5 degrees C followed by 4-5 d of post-storage at 25 degrees C.