Respiration behavior and heat of respiration of mango (cv. Alphonso) under different storage conditions

The rate of respiration of each agricultural commodity varies significantly from commodity to commodity and cultivar to cultivar. To build a controlled, modified or cold storage system and determine shelf life, it is necessary to quantify the rate of respiration and the heat generated as a result of respiration.

A scientific study was carried out to determine the effect of different storage conditions on the rate of respiration and heat of respiration of mango fruits (cv. Alphonso). An air-tight multi-chamber temperature and RH control system was developed to experiment with various temperatures. Mango fruits were stored at 10, 15, 20, 25°C and ambient temperature in the developed air-tight multi-chamber system. The rate of respiration and heat of respiration was determined for different storage conditions.

At the beginning maximum rate of respiration, 63.22, 72.56, 81.13, 86.33, 101.55 ml CO₂/kg/h and heat of respiration, 7096.53, 8322.05, 9119.29, 9589.19, 10547.55 kcal/metric ton/day was observed at 10, 15, 20, 25°C and ambient temperature respectively. It was found that under steady-state storage conditions the rate of respiration and heat of respiration was increased with an increase in temperature whereas decreased with time for all storage conditions.