Abstract
The chironja is a citrus fruit with some morphological characteristics of the orange (Citrus sinensis) and some of the grapefruit (Citrus paradisi). Because of the lack of information on the response of chironja to storage conditions, a study was conducted to evaluate its keeping quality. Five clones grown at the Corozal Substation were used for this study. The fruit was harvested at 5 and 7 months after fruit set date. Clean fruit was stored in polyethylene gags at 7° C and 90% relative humidity for 70 days. Differences in quality and chemical composition of the five clones of fruit were studied. Appearance and flavor of the fruit were found acceptable throughout the storage period. However, fruit stored between 25 and 55 days, regardless of the age of the fruit at harvesting, was preferred. The gas chromatographic pattern of peel oil of the fruit was similar for all clones. Higher concentrations were found in some fractions from the 7-month harvest. No significant difference was found in the flavor of the five clones. A decrease in the percentage of reducing and total sugars was noticed during the first month of storage in fruit harvested 5 months after fruit set, in contrast to an increase in the percentage of total sugars in fruit harvested 7 months after fruit set. Weight loss of fruit throughout the storage period was less than 1% for all clones, irrespective of their age at harvest. In general, there were more significant differences in chemical composition with respect to clones of fruit harvested at 7 months than those harvested at 5 months after fruit set.