Abstract:To investigate the effect of ice-water pre-cooling on the quality of litchi stored at room temperature，Feizixiao，Guiwei，and Huaizhi litchis were used as experimental materials. After 15 minutes of ice-water precooling at 4 ℃，the litchis were packaged in modified atmosphere bags and stored at 25 ℃. A non-precooling treatment was set as the control group. Quality indicators of litchis were assessed during storage. The results showed that ice-water pre-cooling treatment reduced the respiration rate of litchi and delayed quality deterioration during the early stage of storage （0-2 days）. However，after 2 days of storage，with temperature recovery and microbial invasion，ice-water pre-cooling increased fruit respiration rate，decay incidence，and browning index，together with enhanced activities of polyphenol oxidase （PPO） and peroxidase （POD），accelerated degradation of pericarp anthocyanins，total phenols，soluble solids，titratable acid，and vitamin C content in the pulp，with significant variations among cultivars. Specifically，ice-water pre-cooling is suitable for Feizixiao and Guiwei litchis but not for Huaizhi litchi. The above results indicate that appropriate pre-cooling should be selected based on the cultivar to maintain postharvest quality of litchi.