Prolonging Storage Life of Betel Leaves

Mature leaves (3rd to 6th leaves from the tip) were found to be the best material for prolonged storage and distant transport, since they had minimum climacteric peak, senescence, reduction of chlorophyll and spoilage with, greater build up of carotenoids. Compared with CCC and lodo-acetic acid, with BA treatment chlorophyll destruction was minimum with greater build up of carotenoids and yellowing was delayed by about 3 days. Ventilation was found to be very important, in the absence of which, there was moist discoloration and fermentation, while with too much aeration, there was dry discoloration. The methods of packing leaves in baskets normally practised is found to give minimum spoilage. When a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and tartaric acid was also included in the packing, the storage life of the leaves was further extended. Disinfecting the packing material with sodium hypochlorite or aureofungin is found to be beneficial for reducing of spore load and for development of yellow colour. No wide differences in spoilage were noticed between the bulk and small packs among the leaves of three stages of maturity.