Storage of ‘Oso Grande’ Strawberries in Controlled Atmosphere Containing Nitrous Oxide (N2O)

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of ‘Oso Grande’ strawberries during controlled atmosphere (CA) storage with different concentrations of nitrous oxide (N2O). The strawberries were stored at 10 °C for 10 days in hermetic mini-chambers with a continuous flow of 2.5 10−6 m3·s−1 of gaseous mixtures of N2O at 10 kPa, 30 kPa, 60 kPa, and 80 kPa combined with 21 kPa O2 balanced with nitrogen (N2) or in 21 kPa O2, 0.03 kPa CO2, and 0 kPa N2O (control). Strawberries stored in the atmospheres that contained N2O exhibited a reduced incidence of decay and presented better quality than the control group. After 10 days of storage, 37.2% decay was observed in the control group fruit, and 13.6% and 16.4% decay was observed in the fruit maintained at 60 kPa and 80 kPa N2O, respectively. There was a significant reduction (P < 0.05) of 36% in the respiratory rate of the fruit maintained in the CA containing N2O, and the levels of acetaldehyde (0.004 to 0.008 g·kg-1) and ethanol (0.006 to 0.016 g·kg-1) were unaffected by the treatments. The N2O concentrations of 60 kPa and 80 kPa proved to be more adequate for storing the ‘Oso Grande’ strawberries because they reduce the incidence of decay, lowered the respiratory rate, and maintained the quality of the fruit.