Effects of Packing Materials and Ethanol Concentrations on Removal of Astringency of ‘Rojo Brillante’ in Room Temperature

Most of the persimmons grown in Afghanistan are astringent and hence their fruits require de-astringency treatments in order to become edible at harvest time. CO2 with or without ethanol treatment provides an optimal method for the rapid removal of the persimmon astringency, but it is a bit sophisticated and currently not feasible for most of farmers. The present study is therefore carried out to assess a simple and suitable technique for de-astringency of the persimmons at farmer level. The fruits of ‘Rojo Brillante’, a Pollination Variant Astringent (PVA) Spanish cultivar which is astringent, were harvested in yellow-orange color and then quickly dipped in 0, 10, 20, and 40% ethanol concentrations. The treated fruits were packed and sealed in the paper cartons, plastic bags or left open in the room temperature. Firmness, total soluble solids and astringency level of fruits were measured each three days. The astringency of ‘Rojo Brillante’ was removed when fruits treated with 20% or 40% ethanol and packed in the plastic bags for 9 days. Total soluble solids content was not affected by any of the treatments, while commercial firmness (1.5-2.5 kg) obtained by packing the fruits in the plastic bags or paper cartons alone.