Papaya Storage and Preservation

1. Stored at room temperature in the production area and near the place of production, ripe papaya, storage outside the packing room or trans-shipment is temporary, and the warehouse is only required to achieve good ventilation and sanitation. Because the storage period is short and does not require cold temperature conditions, in this way, in the hot summer and cold winter room temperature, the operators must organize and sell reasonably according to the characteristics that the papayas are ripe and easy to rot in the hot days, and they are slow to ripen in the winter. Mature fruits harvested in autumn and winter sometimes require artificial ripening methods to accelerate fruit ripening in order to be marketable. The method of ripening is to put a small amount of calcium carbide in a water drop in the paper bag in each packing box. The packaging does not allow ventilation. After 1 to 2 days, the pericarp turns bright yellow and can be used for food. Papaya harvested in winter, the local colder air temperature, is conducive to the storage of fruits, if the northern transport to the atmosphere below 12 °C below the area, the transport box is required to have anti-cold facilities to avoid cold fruit damage . 2. Low-temperature storage of papaya fruits at low temperature can prolong the storage life. Therefore, this storage method is particularly suitable for the needs of long-distance ground transportation and long-distance market sales. Low-temperature storage is the papaya which has been treated with hot water, fruit-immersed, fumigated or irradiated, and immediately transferred to a storage or transport wagon at a temperature of approximately 13°C. At this temperature, papaya can generally be stored for 2 to 3 weeks. After being cooked at room temperature, they can be cooked normally after ripening to maintain fruit quality. Low-temperature treatment of papaya requires at least a ripening stage at which yellowing is appropriate, because papayas at this stage are relatively insensitive to cold damage. Several experiments combined with cryopreservation demonstrated that low pressure storage can reduce the development of papaya fruit rot, but only play a role in inhibiting the growth of pathogens; other controlled atmosphere storage is at low temperatures and 1% to 1.5% Oxygen content in the control gas conditions, to obtain a few extended storage time. These experiments need to be matched with the traditional post-harvest treatment, heat treatment, sterilant treatment and refrigeration conditions, while the additional low pressure or modified atmosphere experiments increase the cost, so they have not been used in commercial practice.

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