Color quality and pedicel abscission of calamansi (x Citrofortunella microcarpa) stored in CoolBot-equipped cold room

Abstract

Calamansi or calamondin, also known as the Philippine lime (x Citrofortunella macrocarpa), is a vitamin C-rich citrus fruit with a growing demand in the food industry. However, calamansi fruit is highly perishable and has limited shelf life. In this study, the quality and shelf life of calamansi fruit was evaluated under two different storage conditions: a CoolBot-equipped cold room (12.78°C±5.04°C; 80.22% ±10.04% RH) and ambient conditions (26.85°C ±0.50°C; 85.8% ± 3.60% RH). At 10 days of storage (DAS) in a CoolBotequipped cold room, 36% less fruit than those in the ambient showed ≥ 51% yellowing, indicating slower color change. At 10 DAS, the low temperature storage resulted in fruit weight loss reduced by up to 5.8%; slower pedicel abscission by 10% and reduced shriveling by 31%. At 15 DAS, 36% and 78% of the fruit showed ≥ 51% yellowing in CoolBot-equipped cold room and ambient, respectively. Fruit samples kept in the CoolBot-equipped cold store had more negative a* values, indicating greater greenness of the calamansi peel. Compared to ambient-stored fruit, hue was higher while the chroma was lower. Moreover, fruit stored in the CoolBot-equipped cold room exhibited better visual quality and controlled decay incidence for up to 20 days of storage. These findings indicate that the shelf life of calamansi fruit can be effectively extended in a CoolBot-equipped room due to reduced deterioration and senescence.