Rootstock Choice, 10 °C Storage and Edible Coatings Keep Finger Lime Fruit Marketable for Weeks

A new study from researchers at the University of Florida set out to tackle this problem from three directions at once: choosing the right rootstock in the orchard, identifying the best storage temperature in the cold room, and testing whether edible coatings could extend the fruit’s commercial life.

The research, published in Frontiers in Horticulture, was led by Faisal Shahzad together with Tripti Vashisth, Manjul Dutt and Jeffrey K. Brecht. The team worked with two finger lime cultivars, ‘DPI 50-36’, which has white pulp, and ‘UF SunLime’, which has red pulp. Their experiments covered the full postharvest chain, from how the trees grew and cropped under different rootstocks to how the harvested fruit responded to temperature and coating treatments over weeks of storage.

Rootstock selection proved to have a clear influence on tree performance. Trees of ‘DPI 50-36’ grafted onto the US-802 rootstock developed the largest canopy volume, followed by trees on Volkamer lemon, while trees on Kuharske rootstock remained smaller. Canopy size, however, did not translate directly into better fruit performance. Both US-802 and Kuharske yielded heavier fruit at harvest and maintained a higher percentage of marketable fruit during storage than trees on Volkamer lemon, suggesting that the rootstocks producing more compact trees could still deliver fruit better suited to the marketplace.

By contrast, fruit held at 10 °C showed reduced weight loss, a lower incidence of peel physiological disorders, reduced puncture resistance, an improved peel Citrus Color Index, a measure of peel color quality, and a higher marketable yield.

The findings on temperature carry practical weight for growers and shippers. For finger lime, the study indicates that 10 °C strikes the balance: cold enough to preserve the fruit, warm enough to avoid the physiological damage seen at 5 °C.

The edible coatings tested in the study offered an additional layer of protection.

Importantly, the coatings did their protective work without altering the intrinsic qualities of the fruit. Neither peel nor pulp Citrus Color Index was significantly affected by the coating treatments, and juice biochemical characteristics were unchanged in both pulp color types. That distinction matters commercially, because a coating that preserves the peel but changes the juice chemistry or the appearance of the pulp could compromise the very attributes that make finger limes valuable.

Taken together, the results define a practical storage protocol. Storing finger lime fruit at 10 °C with either the coconut oil or the zein-based coating maintained fruit quality by limiting physiological deterioration, allowing both white and red pulp types to be stored successfully for up to 21 days, followed by a further 7 to 14 days at 20 °C, while retaining high marketability and excellent fruit quality. That combined window of roughly four to five weeks from cold room to shelf represents a meaningful extension of the period in which the fruit can reach consumers in saleable condition.

By linking orchard decisions, specifically rootstock choice, to postharvest outcomes, and by identifying a temperature and coating combination that limits chilling injury, the research offers finger lime producers a set of evidence-based tools for getting more of their crop to market in top condition. The authors note that all claims in the article are their own and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations or the publisher.

Subject of Research: Postharvest storage of finger lime fruit and the effects of rootstock, temperature and edible coatings on fruit quality

Article Title: Effects of rootstock, storage temperatures, and edible coatings on fruit quality and storage performance of finger lime (Citrus australasica)

Article References: Shahzad, F., Vashisth, T., Dutt, M., & Brecht, J. K. (2026). Effects of rootstock, storage temperatures, and edible coatings on fruit quality and storage performance of finger lime (Citrus australasica). Frontiers in Horticulture, 5, Article 2020470. https://doi.org/10.3389/fhort.2026.2020470

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3389/fhort.2026.2020470

Keywords: finger lime, Citrus australasica, postharvest, chilling injury, edible coatings, coconut oil, zein, rootstock, storage temperature, fruit quality, shelf life, horticulture