Advanced edible coatings for enhanced post-harvest preservation of climacteric fruits

Abstract

Climacteric fruits are the one which continue to emit ethylene with increased rate of respiration even after harvesting. This natural phenomenon affects the post-harvest life of these fruits as continuation of respiration is highly destructive process for storage of fruits. Hence climacteric fruits are highly putrescible in nature and despite of multiple recommendations of post-harvest storage temperature combinations for prolonging shelf-life, prevalence of storage disorders or other post-harvest losses are pretty high, which make it a candidate for other storage strategies among which edible coating seems a feasible option. Though vast investment of research has also been done on plastic packaging like LDPE, HDPE and shrink film techniques which are effective, but also has an adverse effect on planet due to its non-biodegradability. Minimizing these losses and enhancing the durability of their produce in an eco-friendly way is primary goals for farmers as well as researchers.