The avocado is a climacteric fruit and the ripening process is associated with an increase in respiration, referred to as the climacteric rise. During the ripening of avocado, ethylene production parallels the pattern of respiration. Fruit softening is generally discernible 1 to 2 days, and edible ripeness 1 to 3 days after the climacteric peak, respectively.
As for the fatty acid composition of the lipids of the avocado pericarp, major fatty acids are oleic acid, followed by palmitic, linoleic, palmitoleic and linolenic acids.
Storage at a low temperature of 4°C and relative humidity of 80-90% is limited to about 2 to 4 weeks.
Removal of ethylene from controlled-atmosphere storage (2% O₂, 10% CO₂, 7.2° C) prolongs the marketable life of avocados.
Other storage methods include packaging of fruit and low pressure storage.