Effect of Storage on Physical and Mechanical Properties of Tomato

Tomato, as a processing crop, ranks first among the vegetables grown all over the world. Tomato has a poor shelf life due to its thin skin, low firmness and mechanical properties, high respiration rate and higher water content. To study the effect of storage on physical and mechanical properties viz., axial dimensions, sphericity, shape and shape - factor, volume, weight, weight density, bulk porosity or packing factor, frictional properties and quasi-static compression and rupture strength of fresh tomatoes were determined. It was observed that large (geometric mean dia 53.17mm) and medium (geometric mean dia 47.06mm) size tomatoes are prolate and rest (geometric mean dia 41.33mm) was oblate. The average bulk porosity or packing factor for tomato was found to be 53.7 per cent. Results revealed that moisture content and weight density of fruits decreased while loss, volume shrinkage and static coefficient of friction increased with storage period. No specific trend in variation in the rupture force, strain, stress and stress-strain ratio was found during storage.