Assessing the impact of despination and wax application on long-term cold stored cactus pears

Glochids and spines on cactus pears represent the main constraint that limit cactus pear consumption, thus their elimination is of pivotal importance for commercialization. Their removal causes abrasions and a reduction of epicuticular wax, which increase mass loss and microbiological spoilage. To mitigate the negative impact of glochids removal, in this study, ‘Gialla’ cactus pears of the second bloom, after despination through rotating brushes, were sprayed with two coating materials: Citrashine or Prot´eg´e at 33, 50 or 100%. Fruit were then stored at 20 ◦C for 1 week or at 6 ◦C for 4 or 8 weeks followed by 3 or 7 d at 20 ◦C to simulate marketing conditions. Weight loss, overall appearance and decay incidence were significantly higher in despined fruit compared to control fruit and coated fruit. When applied at 33% Prot´eg´e coating showed an overall beneficial effect that contributed to reduce mass loss, decay incidence and to improve fruit appearance without affecting chemical or sensory quality. Prot´eg´e at 50% and 100% reduced weight loss but resulted phytotoxic and worsened fruit appearance and had a negative impact on the percentage of marketable fruit, besides increasing the degradation of juice chemical compounds and altering sensory attributes. Citrashine had a good impact on preventing decay slowing down mass loss and overall appearance but altered the chemical and the eating quality as Prot´eg´e coating when applied at 50% or 100%.However, in fruit directly placed in simulated marketing conditions at 20 ◦C, despination neither altered fruit quality nor reduced fruit marketability. Thus, replacement of epicuticular waxes lost by despination with coatings can be beneficial for long term storage of cactus pear, provided that the applied material is not phytotoxic and does not impair the fruit gas exchange.