Enhancing tomato shelf life through CoolBot driven mini cold storage: Insights from Bangladesh context

Abstract

A study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of a low-cost cold storage system (CoolBot) in extending the shelf life and preserving the postharvest quality of tomatoes under different packaging treatments. Five treatments were tested, including control (room temperature) and various storage conditions inside the CoolBot: open storage, wrapped in newspaper, brown paper and polythene sheet. The parameters assessed over 27 days of storage included colour, texture, bruising percentage, rotting percentage, remaining weight, weight loss and marketable quality. These conditions contributed to a significant reduction in bruising and rotting percentages in treated tomatoes, especially those wrapped in brown paper and polythene sheets. Tomatoes stored outside the CoolBot showed 99% bruising and 100% rotting by day 9, while the same was delayed to day 27 in the wrapped treatments. Correspondingly, weight loss was lowest in brown paper and polythene-wrapped tomatoes, showing only 6.83 kg and 7.47 kg loss respectively at 27 DAS, compared to 9.97 kg in open storage. The remaining weight and maximum marketable tomatoes were considerably higher in CoolBot-treated with wrapped tomatoes, especially in T3 (brown paper) and T4 (polythene). Tomatoes wrapped in polythene and stored in the CoolBot retained considerable marketable quality even after 27 days, indicating an extended shelf life of about 3-4 times compared to traditional methods. This technology offers a cost-effective and practical solution for postharvest management of Tomato resource-limited country like Bangladesh.