QUALITY OF FRUIT AND OIL OF BLACK-RIPE OLIVES IS INFLUENCED BY CULTIVAR AND STORAGE PERIOD

Black-ripe olives (Olea europaea cv. Ascolano, Manzanillo, Mission, an d Sevillano), intended for oil extraction, were stored at 5 degrees C for 6-8 weeks to evaluate their postharvest physiology and quality cha nges. Also, samples of olives were placed at 20 degrees C for 2 weeks to determine the deterioration rate of four cultivars at ambient tempe rature. Fruit quality evaluations included color, visual quality, frui t firmness, mass loss, and water and oil content. Decay incidence, phy siological disorders, and respiration and ethylene production rates of the olives were also recorded. Olive oil quality was determined by an alysis of titratable acidity, peroxide value, K-232 and K-270 coeffici ents, and fatty acid composition of the olives. Fruit and oil quality of Ascolano and Manzanillo cultivars deteriorated more rapidly than th at of Mission and Sevillano olives. Black-ripe Manzanillo and Ascolano olives could be stored with good air circulation at 5 degrees C for 2 and 4 weeks, respectively, whereas Mission and Sevillano cultivars co uld be stored for 6-8 weeks at 5 degrees C with maintenance of good fr uit and oil quality.