Effect of post-harvest edible coatings on physical parameters of dragon fruit (Selenicereus monacanthus)

Abstract

The research entitled “Effect of post-harvest edible coatings on physical parameters of dragon fruit (Selenicereus monacanthus)” was carried out at Department of Fruit Science Laboratory, Dr. YSRHU-College of Horticulture, Venkataramannagudem, West Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh during the year 2023-24. In the experiment, the design followed was Completely Randomized Design with seven treatments and three replications. Dragon fruits were coated with different edible coatings i.e., T1: Aloe vera gel extract- 50%, T2: Aloe vera gel extract- 75%, T3: Gum Arabic- 10%, T4: Gum Arabic- 15%, T5: Cellulose gum -1%, T6: Cellulose gum -2%, T7 was taken as control and stored at ambient temperature. Fruits coated with Aloe vera gel 75% (T2) recorded significantly lowest percent weight loss (3.81%), lowest spoilage (8.33%) and significantly highest fruit firmness (9.40 kg cm-2) at 9th day of storage. Hence, the research findings concluded that Aloe vera gel 75% (T2) found to be best in improving the physical parameters of dragon fruits at ambient temperature.