Influence of ripening stage and astringency removal on quality of cold stored "Rama Forte" persimmon.

?Rama Forte? persimmon fruits were harvested at three ripening stages (yellow, orange and red) and exposed to 70 kPa CO2 atmosphere during 12 and 18h at 22°C and 95% RH to promote the polymerization of soluble tannins and remove the astringency. After the application of treatments, fruits were submitted to cold storage during 45 days at 1°C and 90% RH (plus 7 days at 22°C). After 15 days of cold storage (plus 2 days at 22°C) fruits were completely non-astringent. After 45 days fruits were able to consume at the open chamber, regardless of the ripening stage and CO2 exposure time. Orange fruits exposed to CO2 during 12h showed the higher weight loss at four and seven days at 22°C, regardless of storage period. Exposure time to CO2 affected fruit firmness, and skin and pulp color. The exposure of fruit at yellow stage during 12 and 18h to CO2 kept higher firmness up to four days of shelf life, in spite of storage period.Trabalho publicado nos anais do IVth International Symposium on Persimmon