Modelling the respiration rates of pomegranate fruit and arils (cv. ‘Bhagwa’)

Abstract

To investigate the effect of temperature (5, 10 and 15 °C) and storage time of 1 to 5 days on the RR (RO2 and RCO2) of pomegranate cultivar (cv. ‘Bhagwa’) fresh arils. A study was conducted to determine the influences of storage temperature (5, 10 and 15 ◦C) and duration on RR of whole pomegranate fruit and arils of two pomegranate cultivars. This requires an adequate mathematical model for prediction of RR as a function of both time and temperature. This study investigated the effect of temperature (5, 10 and 15 °C) and storage time of 1 to 5 days on the RR (RO2 and RCO2) of pomegranate cultivar (cv. ‘Bhagwa’) fresh arils. RO2 and RCO2 were within the range of 2.54 to 8.36 ml/kg.h and 2.76 to 10.04 ml/kg.h, respectively for both cultivars. Reducing storage temperature of arils from 15 to 5°C decreased RO2 and RCO2 by about 67 and 70%, respectively. Temperature had the greatest influence on RR and the interaction of time and temperature also significantly affected RO2 and RCO2.The dependence of RR on temperature and time was accurately described with a combination of an Arrhenius-type and power equation model for RO2 and RCO2 of fresh pomegranate arils and fruits.