Influence of Exposure Time, Temperature and Ethylene Concentration on The Ripening of Mango Fruits

Commercial handling of ‘Banganapalli’ mangoes is burdened by lack of uniformity in ripening of the fruit. A viable approach to overcome this problem could be by application of ethylene released from ethrel and sodium hydroxide. Fruits were exposed to 400, 500 and 600 ppm for 15, 20 and 25 h and subsequently ripened at 16 ± 2ºC, 23 ± 2ºC and 30 ± 2ºC. Control fruit were held at 30 ± 2ºC without ethylene exposure. Ripening was enhanced in all treated fruits at all concentrations used. The ripening rate progressively increased with increase in concentration. Depending on concentration, ripening was 4–6 days earlier, compared with untreated fruits. Bestresults were observed byapplication of 600 ppm of ethylenefor 25 h at 23± 2ºC. The effect on fruit ripening was indicated by increased peel color, increased total soluble solids and decreased flesh firmness and acidity.