Packaging and Storage of Soft-ripened 'Saijo' Persimmons (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) for Improving Sales

juicy and jellylike flesh. The unique textural characteristics of the flesh of soft-ripened persimmons have drawn attention these days. Some restaurant owners have shown interest in soft-ripened persimmons and have started having the fruit shipped to their premises. AKAURA et al. established a procedure for obtaining many soft-ripened ‘Saijo’ persimmons by cold storage and ethylene treatment of the harvested fruit. Cold storage and packaging of fruit in a plastic film bag is effective for extending the storability of on-tree alcohol-treated ‘Hiratanenashi’ persimmons. ITAMURA et al. reported that the combination of packaging and cold storage of ‘Saijo’ persimmons treated with carbon dioxide maintained their firmness for 46 days. However, the storability of soft-ripened ‘Saijo’ persimmons has not yet been determined. In this study, we investigated the effect of temperature, packaging and cold storage length prior to ethylene treatment on the storability of soft -ripened ‘Saijo’ persimmons. We proposed a procedure that enables long-term supply of soft-ripened persimmons, combining cold storage prior to ethylene treatment, individual packaging and cold storage of soft-ripened persimmons.