Bruise Injury and Its Effect on 'Carabao' Mango Fruit Quality

Abstract

Poor handling results in bruising which translates into losses for the Philippine 'Carabao' mango fruit industry. This study determined bruise injury in 'Carabao' fruit as affected by harvest method, dropping from heights of up to 5 m, and interaction of ripeness stage [viz. mature green (MG), more yellow than green (MYG), and fully yellow (FY)] and dropping from 0.5 m up to 1.5 m. Mangoes harvested carefully or by the conventional method consistently had better visual quality at harvest and a lower degree of anthracnose and stem-end rot at the table ripe (TR) stage than those that were dropped. As the drop height increased, cracked fruit, weight loss, and bruised flesh also increased in terms of incidence and severity. There was a positive correlation between the kinetic energy at impact and bruised flesh (y = 2.63x + 20.52, R2 = 0.26, P = 0.02). Retention of green color on the bruised skin surface was evident on mangoes dropped at the MG stage. Subtending bruised flesh was characterized by a white mass of unhydrolyzed starch. Fruit dropped at the MYG stage had soft and opaque bruised flesh. Those dropped at the FY stage had transparent jelly-like bruised flesh beneath the impact site. This study on 'Carabao' mango fruit illustrates that the extent of damage appeared throughout the ripe stage, especially if the fruit does not sustain a crack when dropped. The serial symptomology could be gainfully used in quality assessments in the supply chain to help identify the maturity stages at which these damages occur. This also highlights the importance of avoiding physical damage at harvest and when the fruit progress through ripening.