Low-Temperature Pre-Storage Treatment Enhances the Quality of Ready-to-eat Kiwifruit.

The ready-to-eat kiwifruit industry consistently faces challenges due to uncoordinated ripening parameters and rapid nutritional degradation during post-harvest shelf life. This study investigated the effects of low-temperature pre-storage treatments (LTPS) on the overall quality optimization of ethylene-induced ready-to-eat kiwifruit. "Miliang 1" kiwifruit (Actinidia app.) were subjected to LTPS at 0, 4, 8, and 12°C for 3, 5, and 7 d, respectively. After LTPS, fruits were exposed to exogenous ethylene for 24 h and then held at 25°C for 6 d to reach full ripeness for multi-attribute quality evaluations. The results showed that LTPS promoted the synchronized transformation of nutrients and organic acids in post-ripened kiwifruit. The accumulation of major bioactive compounds, including the total phenols and flavonoids, vitamin C, and carotenoids, was significantly dependent on the LTPS temperature and duration. Notably, the LTPS treatment of 4°C for 7 d led to the highest proportion of essential amino acids, alongside an optimized sugar-acid profile and enhanced antioxidant enzyme activities (superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase). Compared with the directly ripened control, appropriate LTPS conditioning likely contributed to preserving cellular stability and mitigating overripening-related browning. These findings offer a practical and scalable temperature management approach to circumvent post-harvest quality deterioration and stabilize the supply chain of ready-to-eat kiwifruit.