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Fruit Produce Facts English
Orange
Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality
Mary Lu Arpaia1 and Adel A. Kader2 Department of Botany and Plant Sciences, Univ. of California, Riverside Department of Plant Sciences, University of California, Davis Ask the Produce Docs for this CommodityPublications for this CommodityOrange PDF
Maturity & Quality
Maturity Indices Soluble solids/acid ratio of 8 or higher and yellow-orange color at least on 25% of the fruit surface or soluble solids/acid ratio of 10 or higher and green-yellow color on 25% or greater of the fruit surface.
Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere
Optimum Temperature 3-8°C (38-46°F) for up to 3 months, depending on cultivar, maturity-ripeness stage at harvest and production area. Some Florida-grown cultivars can be kept at 0-1°C (32-34°F). Arizona-grown Valencia oranges should be kept at 9°C (48°F). 90-95%
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. < 0.1 µl/kg·hr at 20°C (68°F) Exposure to 1-10ppm ethylene for 1-3 days at 20-30°C (68-86°F) may be used for degreening oranges. This treatment does not influence the internal quality (including soluble solids/acid ratio) and may accelerate deterioration and decay incidence. A combination of 5-10% O2 and 0-5% CO2 can be useful for delaying senescence and for firmness retention but does not have a significant effect on decay incidence and severity, which is the limiting factor to long-term storage of oranges. Fungistatic levels (10-15%) of CO2 are not used because they may result in off-flavors due to accumulation of fermentative metabolites. Commercial use of CA on oranges during storage and transport is very limited. Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere Photos
Title: Chilling Injury Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Freezing Damage Photo Credit: Jim Thompson, UC Davis
Disorders
Physiological and Physical Disorders
Control Strategies
Disorders Photos
Title: Alternaria Rot (1) Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Alternaria Rot (2) Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Alternaria Rot (3) Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title:Anthracnose Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Blue and Green Mold Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Blue Mold (1) Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Blue Mold (2) Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Botrytis Rot Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Brown Rot (1) Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Brown Rot (2) Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Green Mold Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Lasiodiplodia Stem -end Rot Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Phomopsis Stem-end Rot Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Sour Rot Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis 
Title: Trichoderma Rot Photo Credit: Don Edwards, UC Davis
Date
May 1999 |
Use of Materials
The UC Postharvest Technology Center grants users permission to download textual pages (including PDF files) from this World Wide Web site for personal use or to reproduce them for educational purposes, but credit lines and copyright notices within the pages must not be removed or modified.
Except for these specified uses, no part of the textual materials available on the UC Postharvest Technology Center Web site may be copied, downloaded, stored in a retrieval system, further transmitted or otherwise reproduced, stored, disseminated, transferred or used, in any form or by any means, except as permitted herein or with the University of California's prior written agreement. Request permission from UC Postharvest Technology Center. Distribution for commercial purposes is prohibited.
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).
