Alleviation of internal browning in pineapple fruit by peduncle infiltration with solutions of calcium chloride or strontium chloride under mild chilling storage

The development and control of internal browning (IB, a form of chilling injury) were studied in fruit of two commercial cultivars of pineapples. The symptoms develop in tissues surrounding the core when the fruit are stored at 15 °C for several weeks. It was found that core and the fruitlets of fruit of ‘Smooth Cayenne’ and ‘Trad-Srithong’ could be effectively infiltrated with water soluble carmoisine dye or salt solutions by transpiration via the peduncle over three days at storage temperatures of 8, 13, and 20 °C. IB was more severe in ‘Trad-Srithong’ than in ‘Smooth Cayenne’ fruit particularly at 8 °C. Infiltration via the peduncle increased calcium or strontium concentrations in the core and adjacent flesh tissue and reduced IB in ‘Trad-Srithong’ stored at 13 °C. There were no differences in severity of IB between green and quarter ripe fruit. Infiltration with calcium or strontium through the peduncle was more effective when the treatment was applied to freshly harvested fruit under mild chilling conditions.