CORE BREAKDOWN IN 'CONFERENCE' PEARS: A RESPIRATION-DIFFUSION MODEL FOR DISKS AND INTACT PEARS

Controlled atmosphere storage is used worldwide on a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables to slow down the respiration metabolism of the fruit. However, in pears (Pyrus communis cv. Conference), excessively low oxygen levels combined with increased carbon dioxide levels cause brown discoloration of the tissue near the core and development of cavities. The objective of this research is to develop a respiration-diffusion model for studying this disorder in 'Conference' pears. In this paper a lumped model, assuming no internal gas gradients, is proposed to model the oxygen uptake and consumption of pear tissue.