INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF TEMPERATURE AND 1-METHYLCYCLOPROPENE ON 'BARHEE' DATE FRUIT QUALITY PICKED AT KHALAL STAGE

The fruit of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) ‘Barhee’ is mainly harvested at khalal stage when it is physiologically mature, crisp with over 50% moisture content and it is very perishable. Fruit softening, appearing rutab spots and skin wrinkling are the main problems restrict that marketing and storage of khalal dates. In this study, postharvest application of 1.2 µl/L 1-methylcyclopropene in modulating fruit ripening and quality attributes under three storage temperatures (5, 15 and 30°C) was studied. Fruits were analyzed in four days intervals up to 28 days of storage. Results showed that weight loss, skin wrinkling, rutab spots, softening and surface color were affected significantly by storage temperature. However, the effect of treatment with 1-MCP was negligible on most studied quality attributes but for fruits stored under 5°C, 1-MCP considerably modulated weight loss, flesh softening, rutab spots area and darkening.