Introduction. Rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum
L.) is a kind of tropical fruit with high commercial value in
international trade. However, harvested rambutan fruits suffer from a
short shelf life and show rapid postharvest deterioration problems due
to spintern browning and flesh decay. Materials and
methods. Rambutan fruit (cv. ‘Baoyan 5’) were harvested
in 2009 and 2010. Changes in some chemical components and the
physiology of fruits were investigated at different storage
temperatures (25 °C and 10 °C) and with different packing materials
(regular low-density polyethylene and anti-moisture polyethylene
bags). Results and discussion. Changes in the development
of the browning index, and contents of total soluble solids,
titratable acidity and vitamin C greatly decreased during low
temperature storage (10 °C); moreover, low temperature storage (10 °C)
could maintain a significantly higher level of superoxide dismutase
activity and lower values of malondialdehyde and cell membrane
permeability. The effects of packing material were different according
to the different storage temperatures. At 10 °C, the beneficial
effects of anti-moisture polyethylene bags on fruit quality and
physiology were observed. However, at 25 °C, fruit packed with regular
low-density polyethylene proved to be of better quality than those
packed with anti-moisture polyethylene bags. Conclusion.
The overall results suggest that packing with anti-moisture
polyethylene bags and storage at 10 °C were the most suitable
conditions to maintain quality and to extend the storage life of
rambutan fruit.