Studies on post-harvest application of packaging materials for ripening and shelf life of Sapota fruits (Achrus zapota L.) cv. Cricket ball during storage

Abstract

Sapota (Achrus zapota L.) is a climacteric tropical fruit valued for its sweet flavour, nutritional richness and medicinal properties (Ehteshami et al., 2024) [7]. However, its commercial marketing is highly limited due to rapid postharvest softening, high respiration and ethylene production, resulting in a shelf life of only 3-7 days under ambient conditions (Chundawat et al., 1998) [5]. Storage at low temperatures is not suitable because the fruit is sensitive to chilling injury below 15 °C (Broughton and Wong, 1979) [17]. Therefore, suitable postharvest interventions are essential to minimize losses and extend storage life. The present investigation entitled “Studies on post-harvest application of packaging materials for ripening and shelf life of Sapota fruits (Achrus zapota L.) cv. Cricket ball during storage.” was carried out during 2024-25 at the Post-Harvest Laboratory, Department of Fruit Science, College of Horticulture and Research Station, Sankara-Patan, Durg (C.G.). Uniformly matured fruits were harvested from Bana nursery farm, Raipur, and subjected to eleven treatments consisting of different packaging materials such as lotus leaves, LDPE (100 gauge), bamboo basket, tissue paper, palash leaves, brown paper, dried banana leaves, paddy straw, gunny bag and biodegradable bags along with control. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three replications. The packed fruits were stored under ambient laboratory conditions (22-28 °C) and observations were recorded at three-day intervals up to spoilage. The qualitative and biochemical parameters assessed included shelf life, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid, total sugar, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar and TSS:acid ratio. The study aims to identify the most effective packaging material for delaying ripening, retaining fruit quality and extending the postharvest life of sapota. The findings will be useful for recommending low-cost, farmer-friendly storage practices for enhancing sapota marketability.