Shelf-life evaluation of aonla cultivars

Aonla fruits have short shelf-life because of fast browning, desiccation and decay loss due to microbial attack. Four aonla cultivars viz.; NA-7, NA-10, Krishna and Chakaiya were assessed for their shelf-life at ambient condition (18 ± 2°C and 65 ± 5 % R.H.). In general, the aonla fruits showed browning of skin followed by loss of glossyness after harvest during storage. Among cultivars, Krishna and NA-10 were more prone to browning than NA-7 and Chakaiya. The cumulative physiological loss in weight, TSS, acidity and tannin increased, while ascorbic acid content decreased on prolonging the storage period in all the cultivars. NA-10 and Krishna exhibited minimum loss in weight, rich in TSS, ascorbic acid, tannins than Chakaiya and NA-7. Greenness (-a chromacity value) was maintainedin cvs., NA-10, Krishna followed by Chakaiya during storage. Contrary to this, maximum yellowness index (based on L, ’a’ and ’b’ values) was recorded in NA-7 and minimum in Krishna. However, the cv. NA-7 exhibited least browning compared to Krishna up to 10 days of storage. Conclusively, NA-10 and Krishna have better shelf-life of 10 days which retained high vitamin C content, glossy and green appearance compared to NA-7 which can be stored for 6-8 days only under ambient conditions.