The symptoms of chilling injury in papaya fruit cv -Golden' were investigated in this work. Fruits presenting 10% to 15% of fruit skin yellowing were sorted in the packaging line of the Caliman Agrícola S.A (Linhares-ES), after received chemical and heat treatments. The fruits were wrapped in a plastic film and stored at temperatures of 6ºC and 13ºC (85-95% RH) in an incubator (BOD) for 30 days. At defined time intervals, six fruits were evaluated regarding to firmness, appearance and color change. The fruit firmness was evaluated as in the outer as in the inner mesocarp halves. According to the results found, the fruits stored at 6ºC presented skin scald symptoms between six and twelve days of storage and failure to ripen after thirty days, as identified by the Hunter L (luminosity), Hunter a (loss of chlorophyll) and Hunter b (yellowing). The firmness showed a high decrease in the six days of storage in both storage temperatures. However, it stayed higher in the outer mesocarp during all the storage period at 13ºC. Fruits stored at 6ºC showed an increment in firmness in both mesocarp halves between six and eighteen days of storage due to the chilling injury incidence.
chilling injury; papaya; refrigerated storage; ripening
