Feijoa

MATURITY & QUALITY

Maturity Indices

Change in skin color from dark-green to light-green.

Retention force (ease of fruit separation from the tree). Touch picking is recommended.

Feijoas must be picked close to abscission time but before dropping onto the ground to assure good appearance and flavor quality.

Quality Indices

• Color
• Shape
• Size
• Freedom from defects, such as physical injury, scars, skin browning, and chilling injury
• Freedom from decay.
• There are major differences among cultivars in soluble solids (10-16%), titratable acidity (0.3-1.4%), and pH (3.2-4.4)

Methyl benzoate, ethyl benzoate, and ethyl butanoate are important in the aroma of feijoa fruit

TEMPERATURE & CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE (CA)

Optimum Temperature

5°C ± 1°C (41°F ± 2°F); storage potential is 4-5 weeks, depending on cultivar and ripeness stage.

Optimum Relative Humidity

90 to 95%; packaging in perforated plastic bags or box liner is effective in reducing water loss under lower relative humidities.

Rates of Respiration

10-15 ml CO₂/kg·hr (climacteric minimum) and 20-25 ml CO₂/kg·hr (climacteric maximum) at 20°C (68°F).

To calculate heat production multiply ml CO₂/kg·hr by 440 to get Btu/ton/ day or by 122 to get kcal/metric ton/day.

Rates of Ethylene Production

0.1-0.4 µl/kg·hr(climacteric minimum) to 40-50 µl/kg·hr (climacteric maximum) at 20°C (68°F).

Responses to Ethylene

Postharvest exposure to ethylene [10-100 ppm for 24 hours at 20°C (68°F)] enhances loss of green color and softening, but does not influence flavor.

Responses to Controlled Atmospheres(CA)

No published information on responses of feijoa to CA.