POSTHARVEST BIOLOGY AND STORAGE OF BURMESE GRAPES (BACCAUREA RAMIFLORA LOUR. 'REINTHONG')

This study was done to evaluate the postharvest biology and the effect of temperature and application of inhibitor in extending the storage life of Burmese grapes ‘Reinthong’ at yellow and yellow-red maturity stage stored at 25°C. Respiration rate of the yellow-red fruit was 22 mg CO2/kg/h, which was >20% higher than that of yellow fruit. The respiration rates in both stages were stable throughout the 12 days of storage life. Ethylene production at the rate of 1.3 µl C2H4/kg/h in both maturity stages was also found stable and did not change after harvest. Yellow-red fruit were softer than yellow fruit, and softened more when stored longer. Soluble solids in yellow-red fruit were 16.8%, which was >0.4% higher compared to yellow fruit. Titratable acidity was 1.1% in both maturity stages and remained stable throughout storage. The results indicate that Burmese grape is a non-climacteric fruit. The study on the storage of yellow-red fruit at 10, 12, 15 and 25°C showed that the best storage temperature was 15°C with 21 days of storage life. At this temperature, the fruit had little weight loss but the peel turned brown, the fruit rotten, and there was high level of fruit drop. Dipping the fruits in 800 ppm Naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) was found to control fruit drop effectively, while 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) fumigation was not consistently effective.