Effect of different edible coating materials on physiological changes and shelf life of guava fruits under ambient and zero energy cool chamber storage

Abstract

Many techniques have been developed over the years to extend the storage life of fruits there by expanding the marketing distances. One such approach is the use of edible coatings which are environment friendly and relatively inexpensive. Edible coatings delay ripening of climacteric fruit, reduce water loss, decay and improve appearance. In this regard an experiment was laid out in completely randomized design with factorial concept with fourteen treatment combinations of coating materials (A1- wax coating 5%, A2-wax coating 10%, A3-rice starch 5%, A4-rice starch 10%, A5-sago 5%, A6-sago 10%, A7-distilled water) and storage condition (T1-ZECC and T2-ambient) for finding the effect of post-harvest coating (wax, rice starch and sago) along with two storage conditions zero energy cool chamber (14.0-20.0 0C and 84-94% RH) and ambient (9.8-28.5 0C and 40-73% RH) on physiological attributes of Sardar Guava. Fruits treated with wax emulsion 10 per cent and stored in ZECC (A2T1) recorded least PLW (6.13 per cent), firmness (5.50 Kg/cm2) and respiratory activ­ity (51.97 ml CO2kg-1hr-1) at 15th day and exhibited 13.77 days of shelf life.