An analysis of the postharvest behavior of four genetic materials of feijoa (Acca sellowiana Berg)

Abstract

ABSTRACT The characteristics of four genetic materials of feijoa (GM7, GM12, GM26, and GM27) after 7, 15, and 30 days of refrigerated storage (5°C and 97% RH) followed by 7 days of shelf-life (20°C and 80% RH) were analyzed. Respiratory activity, weight loss, flesh firmness, external and internal color, internal browning, total polyphenol content (TPC), and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were determined. GM12 exhibited the best respiratory activity in most of the evaluated moments. Significant weight loss, i.e., 5%–7% of the initial weight at 7+7 and 15+7 days of storage and 8%–10% at 30+7 days was observed, especially in GM26. At harvest, flesh firmness was 38–57 N and reduced by 50%–65% in shelf-life. The external color did not show noticeable differences. Internal browning, which increased with the storage progress, was less noticeable in GM7, possibly owing to its lower TPC and TAC. GM26 and GM27 were the least firm and had the maximum weight loss. Although GM7 had a lower content of functional compounds, it had less internal browning. GM12 presented significant respiratory activity, high content of functional compounds, and acceptable firmness retention and weight loss, making it the most promising genetic material analyzed in this study.