Misshape

Clearly misshape fruit are unacceptable and should be discarded during sorting and grading.

Pest damage

Discoloured or black areas of healed wound tissue on the skin. The damage is superficial and does not penetrate into the flesh.The appearance of the damage varies from pinpricks to larger wounds. The wounds were healed.

Possible causes: Insect feeding (piercing or chewing) can cause visible blemishes on mango fruit.

Rating scale:

0 =         Nil;

1 = < 1 cm2;

2 =     1 - 3 cm2;

3 =     3 - 12 cm2;

4 =       > 12 cm2.

Scab, scar and tree rub

Scab, scar and rub are a mechanical damage that were healed. The damage includes ground marks, tree rub, cleavage scars, healed wounds, hail damage.

Possible causes: Skin rub, sapburn while on tree, hail damage

Rating scale:

0 =         Nil;

1 = < 1 cm2;

2 =     1 - 3 cm2;

3 =     3 - 12 cm2;

4 =       > 12 cm2.

Bruising:

Careless handling may result indepressions or flat spots on mango fruit in which thepeel is often not injured, but the underlying flesh isdamaged and discoloured.

Bruising due to poor handling and packing.

Bruises should be rated on the basis of depth, area, and discolouration using a scale of 0 to 4:

0 = no bruises;

1 = slight bruising (< 1 cm2);

2 = moderate bruising (1-3 cm2);

3 = highly bruising (3-12 cm2);

4 = severe bruising (>12 cm2).

Cuts

Cuts are fresh and unhealed damage.

Possible causes: mechanical injuries due to inappropriate harvesting, handling and packing.

Cut severity is rated  based on condition defects using a scale of 0 to 3:

0 = no cuts;

1 = slight injury (the injury exceeds a circle that is 0.5 cm in diameter or 0.5 cm in length);

2 = moderate injury (the injury cuts into the flesh or exceeds a circle that is 1 cm in diameter or 1 cm in length); and

3 = severe injury (the injury cuts into the flesh or exceeds a circle that is 2 cm in diameter or 2 cm in length).

Sun burn

Slight sunburn shows as bleached or yellow patches.

Possible causes: Overexposure of fruit to high levels of the sun during growth and development damages the skin. More common if fruit is suddenly exposed to sunlight when branches are broken if trees are under water stress.

0 = Nil

1 = Yellow bleaching on not more than 5% of the surface;

2 = Yellow bleaching on not more than 10% of the surface; no dark or sunkenblotches;

3 = Yellow bleaching on not more than 25% of the surface;

4 = More than 25.

Skin browning

Light to dark brown flecking, spots, blotches, smears or rings. Usually only becomes obvious after at least 2–3 days after harvest. Usually becomes more severe as fruit ripens and becomes over-ripe.

Possible causes: Prolonged contact with sap of low oil content or detergent containing excess sapcontamination; Detergent used during harvesting not topped up or replaced often enough; Fruit staying wet for a long time (4–6 hours); Ethylene treatment of hot fruit; Exposure to high temperatures for too long (e.g. during hot fungicide treatment).

Rating scale:

0 =         Nil;

1 = < 1 cm2;

2 =     1 - 3 cm2;

3 =     3 - 12 cm2;

4 =       > 12 cm2.

Under skin browning

Browning of the cell layers under the skin. In some cases the unaffected waxy layer on the skin gives the affectedbrown area an opaque appearance. The affected area is not sunken.Flesh is not affected. Usually not visible at harvest.

Possible causes: May be influenced by fruit nutrition, rapid temperature reduction during forced aircooling after packing, and excessive storage times or incorrect storage conditions. That also may develop as a result of vibration during transportation.

Rating scale:

0 =         Nil;

1 = < 1 cm2;

2 =     1 - 3 cm2;

3 =     3 - 12 cm2;

4 =       > 12 cm2.

Failed ripening

Blotches of green colour on yellow skin of ripe fruit.

Possible causes: Uneven ripening due to shock heat; high CO2 levels, usually above 1% during ripening, storage or transport; immature fruit failing to ripen; excessive nitrogen fertiliser during growing

Chilling injury

Chilling injury symptoms include poor colour andflavour, surface pitting, grayish scald-like skin discolouration. Chilling injury symptoms and severity depend onthe cultivar, maturity and ripeness stage (riper mangos areless susceptible), and temperature and duration of exposure,which are cumulative.

Exposure of mature-green mangosto temperatures below 12°C and exposure of partiallyripe mangos to temperatures below 10°C can result inchilling injury.

Water loss

Shriveling on the fruit surface due to fruit surface exposed in low RH or high air velocity in the cold room.The symptom is the changes in peel texture (i.e., shriveling) anddull colouration. Since shriveling would probably occurthroughout the surface of the fruit, especially when fully ripe.

Shriveling is rated from 0-3:

0 = no shrivelling or less than 5% of the fruit surface affected

1 = slight shriveling of the peel; = > 5% up to 15%

2 = moderate shriveling of the peel; 15% up to 25%;

3 = severe shriveling of the peel; > 25% of the fruit surface affected

It can be prevented by using fruit coating, and relative humidity should be keptbetween 90 and 95% to minimise water loss and shriveling.

Flesh discolouration

Dark brown discolouration of the flesh can start as small areas with smaller darker spots, usually near the seed. In severe cases can cover over 50% of the flesh.

Possible causes: Thought to be associated with long storage times, or a combination of shorterstorage times with excessive delays (several days) between harvest and the startof cold storage. That may develop as a result of either chilling injury, heat injury or irradiation.

Soft nose

The beak or nose end of the fruit changes colour prematurely and begins to soften. In other cases colour change occurs on the body of the fruit as the fruit ripen onthe tree. Flesh near the nose becomes over-soft and dark, yellow and watery

Possible causes: Inadequate nutrition (low calcium/high nitrogen) or excessive vegetative growthduring fruit development. Fruit from early flowers mature more quickly than the main crop and ripen on thetree.

Jelly flesh

Flesh around the seed turned into a jellylike mass. Susceptibility to jelly seed varies amongcultivars, and Tommy Atkins is among the more susceptiblegroup. Some of these disorders can be reduced by increasingfruit calcium content via proper pre-harvest calcium applications.

Similar to soft nose, but the flesh around the seed ripens more rapidly than therest of the flesh. No obvious symptoms on the outside of the fruit. Flesh often has a slightly ‘off’ odour and flavour

Possible causes: Thought to be similar causes as with soft nose

Stem-end cavity

That causes by heat injury. The flesh near stem has necrosis of the flesh around the cavity.

This cccurs at the stem end. Visible external symptoms appear only in severe cases when the cavity extendsto the under-surface of the skin: Grey-brown sunken area on the skin of the fruit near the stem attachment. If no visible external symptoms in hard mature fruit, press around the stem withthumb. If the tissue gives easily to pressure, then cavities are usually present.

Possible causes:

• May be linked to a physiological and nutritional imbalance during fruit development; Possibly associated with low calcium/high nitrogen; Harvesting over-mature fruit.

Flesh cavities

There are cavities in the flesh and not restricted to any area of the flesh. Fruit can have a white border around the cavity.

Possible causes:  Fruit dropped onto a hard surface (impact damage) or hot water treatment.