Postharvest Changes of Sugar Concentrations in Chilled-Injured Cherimoya (Annona cherimola Mill.)

Summary Starch is the main form of carbon stores in cherimoya ( Annona cherimola Mill. cv. Fino de Jete ), constituting 10% to 12% of the fresh weight of mature-green cherimoya. During ripening starch was completely hydrolyzed when fruits were stored at non-chilling temperatures (22 °C or 12 °C), being mainly converted to glucose and fructose in equimolar concentrations, with transient accumulation of sucrose. Storage at chilling temperatures (4 °C or 1 °C) produced a decrease in the starch hydrolysis rate and consequently in the concentration of monosaccharides. When chilled-injured cherimoya were rewarmed to 22 °C after 11 days of storage in the chilling conditions, an activation of starch hydrolysis took place. In these rewarmed fruit, accumulation of glucose and fructose was smaller than in non chilling fruit. The final monosaccharide concentrations were dependent on the severity of the chilling-injury.