As little as 5-10 ppb ethylene will induce fruit softening. Avoid exposure of unripe kiwifruits to ethylene during harvest, transport, and storage. CA delays ripening and retains flesh firmness. Physiological Disorders Freezing Damage. Flesh translucency starting at the stem end of the fruit and progressing toward the blossom end as the severity increases.
Susceptible fruit become somewhat yellow fleshed with prolonged storage.
Fruit frosted late in the season are usually affected on the shoulder where the cells collapse to cause a pinching of the fruit at the stem end. This disorder is induced by exposure of kiwifruit to ethylene plus carbon dioxide levels above 8 percent . The fruit core fails to ripen when the remainder of the fruit is soft and ripe. With time this progresses around the blossom end and ultimately encompasses a large part of the fruit. The occurrence of granulation is predominantly at the stylar end of the fruit, but as in the case of translucency may extend up the sides of fruit.