Improving the appearance of Kuini (Mangifera odorata) using carbon bagging during the preharvest stage

Kuini (Mangifera odorata) is one of the important indigenous fruits that can be found in Malaysia. This fruit belongs to the same genus as the mango and is known for its strong and pungent smells. Usually, this rare fruit is eaten fresh, semi-cooked in local delicacy, or is used to produce other products such as juice or functional drink. Naturally, Kuini has green colour skin even after the fruit has fully ripened. This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of carbon bagging during the preharvest stage on fruit quality and skin colour changes. Fruits were tagged after the setting stage and bagged with a carbon bag after reaching approximately 16 cm in circumference. Regular white bags were used as control. Results have shown a significant difference in skin colour (L, a*, b*, chroma and hue) where fruits bagged using carbon paper bag exuded a yellowish hue as compared to the control. However, for the chemical content of the fruits, there are no significant differences between fruits bagged using carbon paper bag and white colour bag in terms of total soluble solid (TSS), pH and titratable acidity. In short, the use of carbon bags during the preharvest stage can change fruit skin colour without compromising the fruit quality.