Effect of storage temperature and low temperature conditioning on quality and chilling injury of 'LD1' red fleshed dragon fruit

Vietnam is a significant producer of dragon fruit, but to date the industry has primarily been based on the standard white-flesh cultivar. 'LD1' is a relative new red-fleshed dragon cultivar being grown more widely in Vietnam. Little research has been carried out on postharvest issues. We examined the effect of storage temperature (2, 6 and 10 degrees C) for 2, 4 or 6 weeks as well as non-stored (20 degrees C). In addition, the potential for improving quality by use of low temperature conditionings (LTC) was conducted using 6 and 10 degrees C for 3 d before subsequent storage at 2 degrees C. For fruit that were not cool stored (held at 20 degrees C), fruit could be held for approximate to 5 d, but quality decreased rapidly so that by 9 d fruit were of poor quality, primarily due to rots. For cool stored fruit, 6 degrees C was the best temperature resulting in a good quality for up to 4 weeks without chilling injury. At the lowest storage temperature (2 degrees C), fruit suffered chilling injury which included wilting and desiccation of the bracts, and translucence of the outer flesh, although rots were lower. Chilling symptoms were observed after even 2 weeks storage, with increased chilling injury with increased storage time. Chilling symptoms and rot incidence increased dramatically with time at 20 degrees C after removal from storage. Low temperature conditioning slightly reduced chilling symptoms at 2 degrees C. These results provide initial recommendations for postharvest storage conditions, and directions for further research.