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Fruit Produce Facts English
Fig
Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality
Carlos H. Crisosto, Elizabeth J. Mitcham, and Adel A. Kader Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis
Maturity & Quality
Maturity IndicesFresh market figs must be harvested when almost fully ripe to be of good eating quality. Skin color and flesh firmness are dependable maturity and ripeness indices. ‘Black Mission’ figs should be light to dark purple rather than black and should yield to slight pressure. ‘Calimyrna’ figs should be yellowish-white to light yellow and firm. Quality IndicesFresh figs’ skin color and flesh firmness are related to their quality and postharvest-life. Flavor is influenced by stage of ripeness and overripe figs can become undesirable due to fermentative products. Other quality indices include absence of defects (such as bird-peck, sunburn, scab, skin break, and stem shrivel), insects, and decay. Maturity & Quality Photos
Title: Brown Turkey Fig Maturity Photo Credit: Marita Cantwell, UC Davis 
Title: Quality Photo Credit: Adel Kader, UC Davis 
Title: Sierra Fig Maturity Photo Credit: Marita Cantwell, UC Davis
Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere
Optimum Temperature-1°C to 0°C (30°F to 32°F) Expedited forced-air cooling to 0°C (32°F) is strongly recommended. Optimum Relative Humidity90-95% Rates of Respiration Production
To calculate heat production, multiply ml CO2/kg·hr by 440 to get BTU/ton/day or by 122 to get kcal/metric ton /day. Rates of Ethylene Production
Responses to EthyleneFigs are slightly sensitive to ethylene action on stimulating softening and decay severity, especially if kept at 5°C (41°F) or higher temperatures. Responses to Controlled Atmospheres (CA)CA combinations of 5-10% oxygen and 15-20% carbon dioxide are effective in decay control, firmness retention, and reduction of respiration and ethylene production rates. Postharvest-life at optimum temperature and relative humidity depends upon cultivar and ripeness stage at harvest and ranges from 1 to 2 weeks in air and from 3 to 4 weeks in CA for California-grown ‘Black Mission’ and ‘Calimyrna" figs. Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere Photos
Title: CO2 Effect on Black Mission Photo Credit: Adel Kader, UC Davis 
Title: CO2 Effect on Calymirna Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Temperature and CA Effects on Brown Turkey Figs Photo Credit: Marita Cantwell, UC Davis 
Title: Temperature and CA Effects on Sierra Figs Photo Credit: Marita Cantwell, UC Davis
Disorders
Physiological and Physical DisordersCA-related disorders. Extended storage in CA can result in loss of characteristic flavor. Figs exposed to less than 2% oxygen and/or more than 25% carbon dioxide develop off-flavors due to fermentative metabolism. Pathological DisordersAlternaria rot. Caused by Alternaria tenuis, appears as small, round, brown-to-black spots over the fruit surface. Any cracks on the skin make the fruit more susceptible to the rot. Black mold rot. Caused by Aspergillus niger, appears as dark or yellowish spots in the flesh with no external symptoms. At advanced stages the skin and flesh turn slightly pink color and white mycelia with black spore masses follow. Endosepsis (soft rot). Caused by Fusarium moniliforms, appears in the cavity of the fig making the pulp soft, watery and brown with sometimes an offensive odor. Souring. Caused by various yeasts and bacteria, is a preharvest problem resulting from yeasts and bacteria carried into the figs by insects, especially vinegar flies, resulting in smells of alcohol or acetic acid. Control of Postharvest Diseases
Disorders Photos
Title: Decay Follows Physical Damage Photo Credit: Marita Cantwell, UC Davis
Date
August 1998 |
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The information in this fact sheet represents our best understanding of the current state of knowledge at the time of the latest update, and does not represent an exhaustive review of all research results. Links to any of these UC Postharvest Technology Center pages are permitted, but no endorsement of the linking site or products mentioned in the linking page is intended or implied by such a link.
How to Cite
Author(s) names. Initial publication or update date (located at the top). Title. Link to the specific Produce Fact Sheet webpage (Accessed date)
Example: Cantwell, M. and T. Suslow. 2002. Lettuce, Crisphead: Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality.
http://ucanr.edu/sites/Postharvest_Technology_Center_/Commodity_Resources/Fact_Sheets/Datastores/Vegetables_English/?uid=19&ds=799 (Accessed January 18, 2014).
