Avocado Fruit Quality Management during the Postharvest Supply Chain

Abstract

Avocados are a popular subtropical fruit of high economic importance and the European Union is the biggest importer of the bulk of the fruit coming from countries like South Africa, Chile and Israel. The fruit is highly nutritious being rich in vitamins A, B, C, minerals, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron and antioxidants10%. The Guatemalan is native to the Guatemalan highland and has medium round fruit with an oil content of 8 to 15% and a leathery, pliable and non-granular ski n. The tree is less cold tolerant than the Mexican. The Mexican race thrives best in the subtropics and has the smallest fruit of the three races, with a thin skin and the highest oil of up to 30%. (2) The tree is most tolerant of cold growing conditions. Chen et al. (3) confirmed that the substantial genetic differentiation among the three ecological races corresponded to the defined horticultural races, but they also reported that the previously undetected genetic differentiation has two subpopulations from Central Mexico. Many cultivars are hybrids between the races. "Hass" (a Guatemalan x Mexican hybrid) is considered to be the most dominantly grown cultivar in the subtropics (4) and is recognised as the best overall quality avocado available. The fruit weighs between 140 to 400 g with medium to thick skin, leathery, coarse corky in texture and it turns purplish black when ripe. Other popular cultivars include "Fuerte" (a Mexican x Guatemalan hybrid), "Bacon" (a Mexican x Guatemalan hybrid), Pinkerton (a Guatemala hybrid), "Edranol"(a Guatemala hybrid), "Ryan" (a Mexican x Guatemalan hybrid", "Ettinger" (predominantly Mexican) and "Fuchs" (West Indian). (4) The fruit characteristics of the above mentioned cultivars are shown in Table 1. Physical properties of avocadoThe fruit (berry) is pear-shaped, oval or round with a short neck. Fruit length can vary from 7.7 cm to 33 cm and its width can be up to 15 cm. The skin color of the fruit can vary from yellowish green, dark green or reddish-purple, to dark purple (almost black). The edible portion of the fruit, that is, its flesh or pulp can be pale to bright yellow in color and the fruit flavor is described as a buttery or nut-like flavor. Its single seed is situated at the center of the fruit and 3 Table 1 Fruit characteristics of different avocado cultivars a a Source: Whiley et al. (4) the shape of the seed can be oval, round or oblong and generally the length of the seed is around 5 to 6.5 cm long, but may be smaller. The seed is covered by a thin brown seed coat that adheres to the seed cavity. (4) Avocado production and trade European markets. In the EU, the Netherlands and France as well as the UK are the major avocado importing countries. Although the "Fuerte" cultivar displays a green skin color after ripening and is well known in the European markets, the "Hass" cultivar currently dominates the international trade market due to its longer shelf life, large fruit size and its higher consumer acceptance due to its rich nut-like flavor. (11,12) "Hass" is the dominant and m...

Factors associated with postharvest ripening heterogeneity of ‘Hass’ avocados (Persea americanaMill)

“…Avocado during ripening is characterized by fruit softening [43] due to cell wall dismantling (depolymerization and solubilization) carried out by cellulase, pectin methyl esterase (PME), polugalacturonase (PG), ß-galactosidase, xylanase and xylosidase, enzymes that work in concert or synergistically [44]. In addition, peel color changes in 'Hass' avocados from green to black and synthesis of flavor and aroma compounds take place [2,3]. The three most abundant volatiles hexanal, (E)2 hexenal and 2,4 hexadienal decrease in concentration as the fruit ripens and acetaldehyde, methyl acetate, pentanal and ß-myrcene increased.…”

“…Avocado (Persea americana Mill) is an economically important tropical fruit, and the cultivar Hass dominates the international trade market [1,2]. The world demand for 'Hass' avocados has opened up new consumer niches − the "triggered" and "ready-to-eat" markets.…”

A Statistical Approach for Assessing the Heterogeneity of Hass Avocados Subjected to Different Postharvest Abiotic Stresses

“…Regarding the post-harvest factors, several treatments have been applied (Bill et al, 2014), but focus has mainly been placed on the average time to reach edible ripeness rather than on reducing the spread of avocado ripening within a batch. Low temperature storage is the most commonly used method for extending the postharvest life of avocado (Bower and Cutting, 1988).…”

Warehousing and transportation logistics of mango in Colombia: A system dynamics model

“…From a tactical point of view, packaging is the industry's most important way of maintaining the fresh fruit SC [33]. Maintaining the fruit quality in the SC depends on good practices in farm and crop management, packaging operations, postharvest treatments, temperature management, transportation conditions, and warehousing [34]. Avoiding contamination of fresh products, which may happen either from pre-to post-harvest, or from farm to table, is a global concern [35].…”