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Mango Postharvest Manual
CARD Project 050/04VIE
Version 1
APRIL 2007
By Dr. Roberto Marques, Dr. Peter Hofman,
Robert Nissen
QDPI&F
Ministry of Agriculture & Rural
Development
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© The State of Queensland, Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries [2007].
Copyright protects this work. Except as permitted by the Copyright Act 1968 (Cth), reproduction
by any means (photocopying, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise), making available
online, electronic transmission or other publication of this work is prohibited without the prior
written permission of The Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Queensland.
Inquiries should be addressed to copyright@dpi.qld.gov.au (Ph: +61 7 3404 6999).
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CARD VIETNAM 2006
MANGO POSTHARVEST TRAINING MANUAL
1 Introduction................................................................................................1
2 Key production practices affecting postharvest quality.............................2
3 Know your mango (postharvest biology)...................................................3
3.1 Fruit ripening and quality loss ..........................................................3
3.1.1 Respiration rate................................................................................3
3.1.2 Ethylene production .........................................................................4
3.1.3 Loss of water (transpiration) ............................................................4
3.1.4 Fruit changes during ripening ..........................................................5
3.2 Main causes of quality loss after harvest.........................................5
3.2.1 Inadequate temperature control.......................................................5
3.2.2 Mechanical damage .........................................................................5
3.2.3 Sapburn and skin browning .............................................................6
3.2.4 Postharvest diseases and physiological disorders ..........................7
3.2.5 Treatment injuries ............................................................................7
4 Take care of your mango (postharvest technology)..................................9
4.1 Harvesting and field handling...........................................................9
4.1.1 When to harvest your mango...........................................................9
4.1.2 How to recognise when mango fruit are mature: maturity indices...9
4.1.3 How to harvest your mango ...........................................................10
4.1.4 Desapping ......................................................................................11
4.1.5 Field packing and transport............................................................13
4.2 Packhouse operations and practices.............................................13
4.2.1 How to sort/grade your mango.......................................................13
4.2.2 How to pack and label your mango................................................15
4.2.3 Postharvest treatment to control rots.............................................16
4.2.4 General recommendations for the packing shed ...........................16
4.3 Ripening and storage of your mango.............................................17
4.3.1 Temperature management ............................................................17
4.3.2 Pre-cooling and transport...............................................................18
4.3.3 Forced-air cooling ..........................................................................18
4.3.4 Guidelines for temperature management ......................................19
4.3.5 Controlled ripening .........................................................................21
4.4 How to transport your mango to the retailer ..................................21
4.5 Know your market (customer requirements)..................................21
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5 Causes and solutions of the main postharvest defects of your mango ..23
5.1 Anthracnose ...................................................................................23
5.1.1 Treating fruit with a hot dip.............................................................24
5.1.2 Treating fruit with a flood spray......................................................25
5.1.3 Sanitation .......................................................................................25
5.2 Stem end rot...................................................................................26
5.3 Bacterial black spot........................................................................27
5.4 Sapburn..........................................................................................28
5.5 Skin browning.................................................................................29
5.6 Sunburn..........................................................................................30
5.7 Abrasion damage ...........................................................................31
5.8 Pressure damage...........................................................................32
5.9 Impact damage ..............................................................................33
5.10 Rhizopus rot ...................................................................................34
5.11 Black mould....................................................................................35
5.12 Alternaria-rot...................................................................................36
5.13 Stemphylium rot .............................................................................37
5.14 Sooty mould ...................................................................................38
5.15 Grey mold.......................................................................................39
5.16 Blue mold .......................................................................................40
5.17 Mucor rot .......................................................................................41
5.18 Cytosphaera rot..............................................................................42
5.19 Lenticel spotting .............................................................................43
5.20 Abnormal ripening ..........................................................................44
5.21 Jelly seed .......................................................................................45
5.22 Stem end cavity..............................................................................46
5.23 Internal breakdown.........................................................................47
5.24 Chilling injury..................................................................................48
5.25 Heat injury ......................................................................................49
5.26 Failure of skin to yellow..................................................................50
5.27 Fumigant injury...............................................................................51
5.28 Fruit fly damage .............................................................................52
5.29 Mango seed weevil damage ..........................................................53
CARD Project 05004 VIE Improvement of Vietnamese Postharvest Practices and Supply Chains - July 2007
Postharvest Physiology Training Manual Page 1
1 Introduction
The successful marketing of fresh fruit requires careful attention to detail during
production to produce a quality fruit, and also during postharvest to reduce loss of
quality of the harvested fruit. After spending a lot of time, effort and money on
crop production, it is logical also to spend resources to protect the value of the
product after harvest.
Fresh mango fruit are highly perishable, especially in tropical environments
because of high temperatures. Care needs to be taken during harvesting,
handling, transport, and distribution to ensure that the fruit reaches the consumer
in good condition. Growers, collectors, traders, and retailers should receive
appropriate instruction on how to use the most appropriate postharvest practices,
based on the characteristics of the product, needs of the customer, cost of
technology, and market conditions.
This manual presents the basic principles of postharvest biology that affect fruit
quality, as well as the key postharvest practices that should be used to ensure
quality mango are marketed. Commercial practices were organised in a sequence
aimed at maximising costumer satisfaction, highlighting the benefits and providing
practical recommendations for each step from harvest to customer. The causes
and solutions of most postharvest defects of mango are presented.
This document is not intended to be an exhaustive book on mango postharvest,
but will summarise the key issues as they relate to improving existing supply
chains in Vietnam. More detailed information is available in the Vietnamese
translation of the Queensland DPI&F Agrilink Mango Information Kit.