Abstract
Effect of waxing on postharvest quality of LB8-9 fruit and acceptance for consumer were compared with Minneola and Sunburst during the season of 2002-2004. LB8-9 and Sunburst fruit stored two weeks at 22 C developed similar decay percentages (36%), while Minneola showed only 16% decay. Pitting incidence was zero in LB8-9 and Minneola, and 3% in Sunburst tangerines. No differences were found in fruit color or postharvest losses among three cultivars stored at 4 C after 6 weeks (data not shown). Wax formulation studies indicated that carnauba wax was the best formulation for coating LB8-9. Taste panels were conducted one week and 7 weeks after fruit were stored at 4 C. No difference was found in fruit acceptance one week after packing, while a better score of acceptance was recorded for LB8-9 than Minneola after 7 weeks. Generally, LB8-9 was characterized by the panelists as having a rich flavor. LB8-9 fruit had higher Brix (14.2) and acid (1.12) than Minneola or Sunburst, both having a Brix and acid lower than 11.5 and 0.86, respectively.
