Plums quickly loose postharvest quality, which makes imperative to optimize harvest and storage conditions. The objective of this work was to determine the effects of various atmosphere modifiers on the postharvest quality of cold storage plums, cv. Reubennel. Semi-mature fruits were stored under the following atmosphere modifiers conditions: polyethylene films 12,5 or 15µm of thickness; or carnauba wax. After submitted to these conditions the fruits were stored for 10, 20, 30 and 40 days in a cold room at 0ºC and 90-95% RH. Three days after taken out from the cold storage, the fruits were evaluated about: weight loss; color; firmness; pH; soluble solids (SS); titratable acidity (TA); SS/TA ratio; incidence of rotten and/or internal browning and sensorial characteristics. The use of carnauba wax GARFRESH N (BL9,5) and polyethylene films 12,5 and 15µm reduced weight loss of cold storage plums cultivar Reubennel, but did not appropriately modify fruit atmosphere. Plums cv. Reubennel during cold storage for 30 days at 0ºC preserved the quality.
Plum; modified atmosphere; quality; cold storage; sensorial analysis
