Kiwifruits are often exposed to various temperature fluctuations (TFs) during postharvest transportation and storage. To evaluate the effect of TFs on the qualities of kiwifruits during storage, kiwifruits were stored at 2 °C, 2 °C or 5 °C (TF2 °C–5 °C, alternating every 12 h), 2 °C or 7 °C (TF2 °C–7 °C, alternating every 12 h) for 3 d before long time storage at 2 °C. Observations revealed that kiwifruits stored at a constant 2 °C showed the lowest loss of weight and vitamin C because of minimized ethylene production and respiratory rate compared with that of TF2 °C–5 °C and TF2 °C–7 °C. Moreover, the results of RT-qPCR verified that the expression levels of genes encoding polygalacturonase, β-galacturonidase, and pectin methylesterase were significantly increased by the treatment of TF. Hence, TF accelerated the degradation of cell walls, softening, translucency, and relative conductivity of the flesh of kiwifruits. In addition, the impact of TF2 °C–7 °C on kiwifruits was more significant relative to TF2 °C–5 °C. The present study provides a theoretical basis for kiwifruit during cold storage.

Irradiation is becoming a more accepted phytosanitary market access treatment for some international horticultural trades. However, there is little information on the effects of phytosanitary irradiation treatment on persimmon fruit quality. ‘Jiro’ persimmon fruit were treated with an average of 769 Gray (Gy) at a commercial phytosanitary irradiation X-ray facility to examine the effect of this market access treatment on fruit quality during storage. After treatment, fruit were stored in air at 15 °C for up to three weeks. The results showed that, in general, there was no effect of irradiation treatment on fruit weight loss, calyx appearance, fruit firmness (objective and subjective), total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), internal appearance, and ethylene production rate. There were some treatment differences in fruit respiration rates and some aspects of fruit appearance and colour, where irradiated fruit had higher respiration rates and were slightly darker with higher levels of skin blemish, although these measured differences were not commercially significant. This study showed the promise of using low dose irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment for ‘Jiro’ persimmons, but more work is required to test other persimmon cultivars and other storage and marketing environments.