The Effect of Climacteric and Non-Climacteric Fruit Storage Conditions on Weight Loss

This study evaluated the combined effect of storage temperature and fruit placement on postharvest weight loss in climacteric (apple, avocado, mango, banana) and non-climacteric (orange) fruits. A two-factorial experiment was conducted with two temperature treatments (cold: 5 °C, ambient: 27 °C) and 15 fruits placement combinations (including controls) over 14 days, using three replications. Weight loss was measured at days 0, 1, 5, 7, 10, and 14, and analyzed using two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey HSD. Results indicated that cold storage with climacteric pairings resulted in the highest weight loss, with apples losing up to 2.4 % and avocados up to 4.1 % in cold + banana combinations. The lowest weight loss (0.37 %) was recorded when apples were stored at ambient temperature with oranges. These findings emphasize that mixed cold storage of climacteric fruits may accelerate deterioration and highlight the importance of proper fruit segregation and storage planning to minimize postharvest losses.