The impact of storage temperature on postharvest quality and chilling injury of ‘Okubao’ peaches.

Peach is a popular fruit worldwide with its great coloration, high sweetness, desirable flavour and nutritional value. In order to evaluate the effects of different temperatures on postharvest quality and chilling injury (CI) of peach, four different temperatures (0, 2, 5 and 8°C) were chosen and the quality parameters and CI incidence were analysed simultaneously. CI was characterized mainly by the appearance of flesh browning. The results showed that the browning index was 6.2%, 17.6%, 28.8% respectively at 0, 2 and 5°C for 28 days. Sensory evaluation of peach stored was 6.5, 6.2, 6.8 and 6.4 respectively at 0, 2, 5 and 8°C for 28d, 14d, 7d and 7d. The peaches had the lowest decay index, the lightest CI, the highest nutritional content and the best sensory evaluation at 0°C for 28d.