Application of exogenous ethylene on postharvest ripening of refrigerated 'Ataulfo' mangoes

Commercial handling of 'Ataulfo' mangoes is burdened by lack of uniformity in ripening of the fruit. A viable approach to overcome this problem could be by application of exogenous ethylene. In this work, we evaluated the application to exogenous ethylene on 'Ataulfo' mangoes with hot-water treatment after having been stored for 4 days at 13 +/- 1 degrees C, and then transferred to 25 +/- 2 degrees C for ripening. Fruit were exposed to 100, 500 or 1000 mu l l(-1) ethylene for 6 or 12 h at 25 +/- 2 degrees C. Control fruit were held at 25 +/- 2 degrees C with no previous refrigeration or ethylene exposure; another batch was kept refrigerated for 4 days at 13 +/- 1 degrees C, not treated with ethylene and ripened 25 +/- 2 degrees C. Application of 1000 mu l l(-1) of ethylene for 12 h caused improper ripening. Best results were observed by application of 100 mu l l(-1) of ethylene for 12h, which stimulated the synthesis of I-amino cyclopropanc-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) and increased ACC oxidase activity; these conditions led to a concomitant production of ethylene and the subsequent acceleration of ripening with a net gain of 4 days in the ripening time. External color development of the ethylene-treated fruit was judged as more homogeneous. (C) 2006 Swiss Society of Food Science and Technology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.