Özet:

The effects of storage temperature and ripening stage on the ripening rate of freshly harvested tomatoes before storage were determined. Respiration was slower in tomatoes harvested at mature green stage of ripening, and the respiration rate increased until the tomatoes reached to the pink and light-red stages of maturity. The maximum CO 2 production occurred in toma-toes harvested at pink, light-red and red stages of maturity, whereas the minimum O 2 consumption occurred in tomatoes harvested at turning, pink and light-red stages of maturity. The highest levels of ethylene were produced by tomatoes harvested at breaking, turning and pink stages of maturity. The tomatoes were stored in normal atmospheric conditions, and the respiration rate was affected by the storage period. With exten-sion of the storage period to 3 weeks, the CO 2 production and O 2 consumption of the tomatoes increased. The ripening stage did not have any effect on CO 2 production with the increasing of storage period in normal atmospheric conditions, but during this peri-od O 2 consumption increased.

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