Storage of persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) leads to physiological changes which might result as a change of quality and consequently in the acceptance by the consumers. The food industry wants to prolong persimmon's limited shelf life and maintain its high quality also by the application of alternative storage methods such as light emitting diodes (LED). In this thesis, we wanted to find out what are the physiological changes during irradiation of persimmon with LED light of different wavelengths. After harvest persimmon fruit was kept in chambers at 8 °C and irradiated with different wavelengths of 420 nm, 450 nm, 640 nm and 720 nm for six days. We examined colour parameters L*a*b*, firmness, dry matter content and weight loss during 6 days of irradiation. Results showed that application of LED irradiation leads to change of all quality parameters studied here. The most pronounced were the changes in colour in case of the application of blue light at 420 nm. Persimmon fruit stored under blue light had higher ⠆E value in comparison to those stored under red light or in the dark. There was also a significant decrease in firmness, especially in fruits exposed to blue light.
|
