Gas Exchange Properties of Fresh Chillies and Their Applications in Mathematical Modeling of Packaging Systems

Key postharvest physiological properties including respiration rates and skin permeances under arange of storage temperature (5 to 30oC) were characterised and then incorporated together with thedimensionless Biot number (Bi) in a mathematical model for packaging design. Respiration ratesdramatically increased as storage temperatures were increased whilst skin permeances, as previouslyunidentified evidence, were slightly increased. The major pathway for gas exchanges of chillies wasdominated by movement through the stem area. Calculated Bi values were substantially less than 0.1indicating uniform concentrations of CO2 and O2 in chilli cavity (air). Utilisation of the steady-statemodel to express gas exchange between fruit and immediate environment can reasonably be justified.