Introduction. Because of the long transportation times and storage durations
that are often experienced, it is important to understand how pomelo properties change
over time; that will be indicative of how long samples can be stored before they drop
below acceptable quality limits. As no information is available regarding storage of
pomelo fruit in the literature, the goal of our work was to study the change in pomelo
physicochemical and textural properties following storage over a period of approximately
4 months. Materials and methods. The changes in physical, chemical and
textural properties of commercial pomelo fruit were extensively evaluated over the course
of a 4-month storage period. The correlation among physical, color, chemical and textural
properties were also assessed. Results. Color properties
(L*, a*, b*) changed significantly with
storage; however, they did not change much during the initial 45 days of storage. The
change in soluble solids content (SSC), acidity (A) and the [(SSC) / (A)] ratio suggested
that pomelo fruit should not be stored for more than 75 days. Crucially, our study
demonstrates that the a* parameter (greenness, R = –0.556) correlates
best with the chemical property the [(SSC) / (A)] ratio, which is a recognized measurement
of the consumer acceptability of citrus fruit. This means that measuring
a* is a non-destructive way of monitoring the taste characteristics of
pomelos in storage. This property also correlated well with the average firmness of the
fruit and with the flesh texture. Conclusion. This fundamental information on
the pomelo fruit could prove useful in the physical handling and processing of the fruit
by breeders and postharvest technologists as well as distributors, market agents,
importers and exporters.