Mango Ripening Tips

Early season mangoes may take longer to ripen than middle-to-late season ones.

Store and ship mature green mangoes at temperatures of about 55°F / 13°C.

See our blog page for updated information on how ripe and ready to eat mangos increase sales

Ripening Protocol:

Before ripening begins, the fruit pulp temperatures should be raised to 68 to 72°F (20 to 22°C). Once the fruit pulp temperature stabilises, apply 100 ppm ethylene for a minimum of 12 hours. Actual time of exposure to ethylene is determined by the maturity of the fruit; a slight change in fruit color indicates that the mangoes are producing ethylene and the external ethylene source is no longer needed.

Humidity is very important and it should be maintained at 90-95%.

Carbon dioxide will build up during ripening. If no automatic ventilation system is in place, then be sure to vent the room approximately every 12 hours by opening the doors for 20 minutes even while applying ethylene. The actual CO2 level must be kept below 1% for proper ripening.

After ethylene application, keep pulp temperature at 65 to 72°F (18 to 22°C) until the desired level of ripeness is attained (typically 5 – 9 days). Then store ripened mangoes at 50 to 55°F (10 to 13°C) in a high humidity environment and ship to final destination soon.

For more information on mangos and other fruits, please visit the web site of UC Davis Postharvest Technology Center. A great resource for any Fruit Ripener is a publication from UC Davis entitled “Fruit Ripening & Ethylene Management.”

These recommendations were amassed from a diverse number of sources for use by clients of Catalytic Generators, LLC. While we have made great effort to provide accurate and current ripening techniques, Catalytic Generators makes no warranties regarding these recommendations or the applicability of such information to a particular ripening operation. Please note that we do not provide these recommendations as a replacement for technical ripening experts; if having ripening problems or starting a ripening program, we suggest that professionals be consulted.