Integrated postharvest management of mango (Mangifera indica L.) with particular reference to harvest maturity and fresh fruit quality

The mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.) belongs to the commercially most important fruit crops, both worldwide and also in northern Thailand, which was the region under study. Fresh fruit marketing still plays the key role in utilization of this highly perishable fruit, but is often limited by the lack of suitable attributes for the evaluation of harvest maturity. Harvest maturity of the climacteric mango fruit is known to be the result of various characteristic physiological changes during the development of the fruit on the tree. The maturity at harvest is thus a complex feature, and its characteristics differ between cultivars and depend on production conditions. Therefore, a number of maturity indices had been suggested in the past, but there is little consensus on them. Based on the individual experience of growers with local fruit marketing, harvest time decisions for long supply chains had often led to poor fruit quality on distant markets and to insufficient shelf-life during distribution. In order to increase export rates, suitable indicators, which describe the physiological maturity at harvest properly, were required. Therefore, the major aim of this work was to characterize the maturity at harvest to specify suitable indicators for harvest time decisions with respect to export trade. In this context, the role of harvest time decisions in the postharvest management of fresh mango fruits for long supply chains was to be considered, especially for distribution channels involving marine transports.