1Chowdhary Sawarn Kumar Himachal Pradesh Krishi Vishvavidyalaya, Palampur, HP-176062 (India)
Division ofPost Harvest Technology, SK University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Jammu, Udheywalla, Jammu-180 002, Jammu & Kashmir (India)
*E-mail: monikasoodpht@gmail.com
The present study was aimed to evaluate the effect of post-harvest treatments on the quality and prolongation of post-harvest life of strawberry fruits cv. ‘Chandler’. Strawberry fruits were dipped either in calcium chloride (0.5 or 1.0%) for 1 min. or 0.02% ascorbic acid for 1 min. or fumigated with glacial acetic acid for 5 min. The air-dried treated and untreated fruits were packed in plastic punnets with ordinary cover, LDPE cover and PVC cover and stored at 4°C. The results revealed that physiological weight and decay loss were minimum in fruits treated with 1% CaCI2 and packed in LDPE covered punnets. Total soluble solids increased up to 14th day and thereafter decreased; whereas, acidity decreased in all the treatments with least decrease in fruits packed in punnets with LDPE cover and treated with 1% CaCI2 The treatment also showed lower acid and higher TSS. Thus 1% CaCI2 in combination with punnets having LDPE cover was adjudged as the best treatment for maintaining the quality and improving the shelf life of strawberry.
Acetic acid, ascorbic acid, calcium chloride, packaging, post-harvest treatments, shelf-life, storability, strawberry
