MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGES FOR FRESH SQUASH FRUITS STORAGE

The main aim of this study is to investigate the effect of modified atmosphere (MA) on the quality of squash during storage. Squash fruits were stored at three levels of O_2 concentrations (1, 3 and 5%), three levels of CO_2 concentrations (2, 6 and 10%) under cold storage at 10 °C and 70 % relative humidity as compared with storage in normal air (22C and 70%RH) in perforated and non- perforated packages. CO_2, O_2 and ethylene inside the packages were recorded. Also, weight loss, hardness and color of fruits were determined. The obtained results indicated that, the concentration CO_2 inside the package of fresh squash during storage ranged from 4.71 to 24.02 % for all treatment. The CO2 and ethylene concentrations inside the package increases with increasing CO_2 and O_2 levels during storage, while, O_2 concentrations inside the package decreases with increasing CO_2 and O_2 levels during storage. The accumulated weight loss of squash increased from 0 to 2.17, 0 to 2.48 and 0 to 2.80 %, when the storage period increased from 0 to 14 days at 1, 3 and 5% O_2 levels, respectively compared to 35% for normal air (traditional storage). The squash hardness slightly decreased with storage time, the MA storage had slight effect on the hardness. Package perforation obtained a good results in terms of weight loss compared to the traditional storage. The colour (L*) of squash decreases with increasing CO_2 level during storage period.