Storage life and quality attributes of cactus pears cultivar "Gialla" as affected by packaging

Fruits of "Gialla" first-crop cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indicaL. Mill.) were either wrapped with a heat-shrinkable film or kept unwrapped and stored at 6°C for 3 or 6 weeks, with each period followed by 1 week at 20°C to simulate market conditions. Film wrapping notably reduced weight-loss during storage and shelf-life. Packaging also resulted in a significant reduction of chilling injury (CI) following 3 weeks of storage and throughout the merchandising periods, while after 6 weeks of cold storage, film wrapping led to no beneficial effects on CI incidence, but the percentage of saleable fruit was higher for those that were wrapped compared to the control. The packaged fruit also maintained a better external appearance than did unwrapped fruit. Rots occurred only during the shelf-life period and were not affected by film wrapping. Physiological behaviour and chemical attributes were not influenced by packaging with respect to control.