FORCED-AIR COOLING RECOMMENDATIONS FOR PLUMS

Plums exported from South Africa to overseas markets require effective cold storage management to ensure optimum maintenance of fruit quality. Plums should be placed under cooling within a few hours of harvest, and typically, the fruit is forced-air cooled to -0.5°C. The rate of forced-air cooling (FAC) prior to cold storage has been found to influence the development of internal disorders in some plum cultivars (Jooste and Khumalo, 2004).