Mexican Papayas (Maradol) – Senescence Control

Trial Objective
Slow down senescence to prolong freshness and quality of tree ripened Papayas to reach further markets and to replace air shipment with ocean.

Crop:  Maradol Papaya
Date (Month/Year):    June 2019
Location:  Tecoma, Mexico
Length of Storage:  4 weeks

Trial Details
Tree ripened papayas (Maradol) from 3 different maturity stages were stored at 50F for 4 weeks.  Papayas were stored in RipeLockers and the Control was left out in ambient temperature.  Pictures taken below are of papayas from the RipeLocker and Control at the beginning (Day 0) and end (Day 30) of the trial.

Maturity Stage Legend
Yellow dot – # Maturity stage
Green dot – # Maturity stage
Red dot – # Maturity stage

Trial Conclusions
Tree ripened Papayas were able to retain their maturity stages better when stored in the sealed and controlled pressure/atmosphere of the RipeLocker.  Fruit in the RipeLocker looked fresher, felt firmer, and had less visible decay. There was also no evidence of any off flavors and the taste was great.

The Control fruit was observed to continue to ripen in ambient temperature, reaching advanced levels of maturity and senescence (looked tired, felt less firm and showed shrinkage/wrinkles and spots of decay), rendering them non-sellable at 30 days.