‘Golden Delicious’ apples were vacuum infiltrated (250 mm Hg) with 0, 4, and 6% solutions of CaCl₂ followed by heat treatment for 0, 48 and 72 hours at 38^oC. Treated fruits were stored at 0^oC with RH of 85-90% for 2.5 and 5 months, followed by one week of storage at 20C. The results showed that fruits treated with 4 and 6% of CaCl₂ significantly increased calcium content of fruits after 2.5 and 5 months of storage at 0^oC. With increasing calcium content, fruit firmness also increased. There was a positive relationship between fruit firmness and calcium content and regression coefficients after 2.5 and 5 months of storage at 0^oC were 0.77 and 0.83, respectively. Heat treatment for 48 and 72 hours at 38^oC significantly increased fruit firmness. Calcium chloride at 4 and 6%, plus heat treatment, significantly increased fruit firmness of those fruits held for one week at 20^oC after removal from cold storage. In the second experiment, vacuum infiltrated fruits with 4 and 6% solutions of CaCl₂ plus potassium permanganate (0, 10, and 20 g/bag) had no significant effect on fruit firmness, but potassium permanganate alone significantly increased fruit firmness.

Keywords: Calcium chloride, Vacuum infiltration, Fruit firmenss, Heat Treatment

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