| Popis: |
The present investigation entitled “Effect of different edible coating materials on post-harvest shelf life and quality of sapota (Manilkara zapota L.)” was carried out in the Postharvest Technology Laboratory, Department of Fruit Science and Horticulture Technology, College of Agriculture, Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology during 2021. The experiment was conducted in Complete Randomized Design (CRD) with 8 treatments replicated thrice. The different coating treatments used in this study were T1: Control (Uncoated), T2: 5% Sago starch, T3: 10% Sago starch, T4: 50% Aloe vera gel, T5: 75% Aloe vera gel, T6: 100% Aloe vera gel, T7: 0.5% Carboxymethyl cellulose, T8: 1% Carboxymethyl cellulose. Fruits were harvested at the physiological maturity stage and immediately taken to the laboratory, washed with water and dried. After drying, the fruits were coated with different edible coating materials as per treatments and allowed to dry. Fruits were examined for various physical and chemical changes on the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th days after storage. From the results, it is clearly evident that fruits coated with both 100% Aloe vera gel (T6) and 75% Aloe vera gel (T5) were at par in recording the lowest physiological weight loss and maximum ascorbic acid. Fruits coated with 100% Aloe vera gel solely recorded minimum decay loss, maximum fruit firmness, highest sugars, high TSS, and high titratable acidity. Results indicated that the uncoated fruits(T1) recorded the highest pH but also recorded maximum physiological weight loss, maximum decay loss, and lowest shelf life. Looking at the results obtained in the investigation, it was concluded that 100% Aloe vera gel can be used as an edible coating for sapota fruits to get the benefits of delayed ripening, better chemical qualities, better maintenance of firmness and longer shelf life. KEYWORDS: Sapota, Edible coating materials, Post-harvest physiology, Firmness, Keeping Quality, Shelf life. |
