Maturity and postharvest temperature management affect rot expression in ‘Hort16A’ kiwifruit

• Storage rots and chilling injury were more frequent on less mature fruit.
• Rots started to appear after 12 weeks.
• The majority of rots were body rots on fruit that had chill damage.
• Temperature management that reduced chill damage also reduced rots.

Rots that developed in ‘Hort16A’ kiwifruit during storage and shelf assessment were quantified and identified from fruit harvested at different maturities. Research was conducted over two seasons, with the second season’s research being extended to include temperature management regimes designed to affect chilling damage. The incidence of rots in ‘Hort16A’ kiwifruit after storage was strongly influenced by both fruit maturity and temperature management. The higher rot incidence in less mature fruit seen in the first season was confirmed and extended in the second season to associate the prevalence of rots with fruit which had some form of physiological chilling injury. Temperature management that exacerbated the expression of chilling damage, a short delay before cooling, rapid cooling and storage at lower temperatures, resulted in a higher incidence of rots on chill damaged fruit. These findings indicate the importance of a holistic approach to understanding rot expression in storage. Not only is the inoculum source or load at harvest significant but also the physiological state of the fruit, which can influence the timing and species of fungi that ultimately grow on the fruit. That physiological state of the fruit may include the presence of physiological disorders as well as the ripeness of the fruit.