Studies on the Effect of Different Packaging and Coating Treatment on Shelf Life of Papaya (Carica papaya L.)

Abstract

During the academic years, 2023-2024, a study was carried out at the Post Harvest Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, NAI, SHUATS, Prayagraj (U.P.). The experiment used a Completely Randomized Design with 9 treatments and three replications of different materials such as Honey, Paraffin wax, LDPE Polythene Wrap and KMnO4. The main objective of the experiment was to evaluate the influence of different coating materials on its physical, quality & organoleptic attributes on its shelf-life. According to the results of the current study, Treatment T8 [KMnO4 (0.1%) + LDPE Polythene Wrap] had the best effects on physical attributes like [0.45 (3 days), 1.25 (6 days), 8.86 (9 days) and 12.12 (12 days)] % physiological weight loss %, [6.45 (3 days), 4.98 (6 days), 3.39 (9 days) and 2.41 (12 days)] kg/cm2 fruit firmness with peel, [5.84 (3 days), 3.8 (6 days), 2.73 (9 days) and 1.5 (12 days)] kg/cm2 fruit firmness without peel, [0.00 (3 days), 0.00 (6 days), 4.94 (9 days) and 23.46 (12 days)] % spoilage and 12.1 days shelf life. It also had significant effects on quality attributes like [7.45 (3 days), 9.12 (6 days), 11.15 (9 days) and 12 (12 days)] ºBrix TSS, [2.25 (3 days), 3.12 (6 days), 4.44 (9 days) and 5.34 (12 days)] pH, [4.46 (3 days), 3.56 (6 days), 2.27 (9 days) and 1.17 (12 days)] % acidity, [4.35 (3 days), 5.85 (6 days), 7.45 (9 days) and 8.27 (12 days)] % Reducing Sugar %, [0.50 (3 days), 1.22 (6 days), 2.12 (9 days) and 2.45 (12 days)] % non-Reducing Sugar %, [4.88 (3 days), 7.13 (6 days), 9.68 (9 days) and 10.85 (12 days)] % Total Sugar %, [34.26 (3 days), 48.12 (6 days), 58.22 (9 days) and 67.41 (12 days)] mg/100g ascorbic acid. Organoleptic attributes like [8.63 (3 days), 9.00 (6 days), 8.66 (9 days) and 7.29 (12 days)] colour and appearance, [9.00 (3 days), 8.85 (6 days), 8.00 (9 days) and 7.25 (12 days)] taste and flavour, [9.00 (3 days), 8.70 (6 days), 8.16 (9 days) and 7.75 (12 days)] aroma and [9.00 (3 days), 9.00 (6 days), 8.67 (9 days) and 7.57 (12 days)] texture were also found best under Treatment T8 [KMnO4 (0.1%) + LDPE Polythene Wrap].