The Fuyu persimmon fruit presents little literature review of mechanical properties and physiological behavior. In this paper the alteration of mechanical resistance to compression of persimmon fruit 'Fuyu' the respiratory behavior and the evolution of ethylene production during storage were evaluated. The fruits were harvested with two harvest indexes: Index 1, fruits with 15 to 20 days before the commercial index, and Index 2, known as the commercial index. The fruits were selected, packed (commercial carton boxes) and stored in two conservation conditions, with refrigeration (0 ± 1 ºC and 65 ± 1% RH) and without refrigeration (22 ± 3 ºC and 71 ± 6% RH). The Young's modulus of persimmon fruit decreases during the postharvest period independently of the conservation conditions. The Young's modulus varied between 3,695.3 and 968.2 kPa. The harvest index of persimmon fruit 'Fuyu' influenced the Young's modulus values during the storage. The persimmon fruit 'Fuyu' showed a respiratory pattern characteristic of climacteric fruits and exhibited a maximum ethylene evolution at the climacteric peak.
fruits; postharvest; conservation; Diospyros kaki
