Green ripe fruit is a major quality problem for mangoes because it reduces their saleability, especially the Kensington Pride variety. Although green ripe fruit softens, the skin retains a green colour or appears motley green/yellow in colour. This fruit is certainly not in demand as consumers and retailers expect ripe Kensington Prides to have a yellow skin colour, preferably with some pink or red blush. Green fruit will generally be left on the retail shelf.
The change in skin colour from green to yellow typically occurs during ripening. It can be affected by both orchard management and postharvest handling practices. Research to investigate the cause of green ripe fruit was done back in the 1990’s and it is still very applicable today. Researchers studied several production factors that may have contributed to the green skin colour. Below were some of their findings:
Factors that cause green fruit
Orchard management
Postharvest practices
Yellow skin colour can be increased by:
Pre-harvest
Postharvest
This research was conducted by Dr. Peter Hofman, Rowland Holmes and Scott Ledger from the Agency for Food and Fibre Sciences division of the Queensland Department of Primary Industries in 1997 and revised in 2003. It has recently been reviewed by the technical adviser of project MG12001 – Mango Quality, Terry Campbell.