Different Maturity Phases and Wrapping Material Types Affect Papaya Fruit’s Quality (Carica papaya L.) var. Calina

Indonesia ranks fifth as a papaya producer. Indonesia’s papaya production in 2023 will reach 1.239 million tons per year. Mechanical damage and disease attacks on papaya fruit can occur due to impacts during harvest and transportation. Harvesting fruit that is too young or not yet physiologically ripe will result in it not being fully ripe and the taste not being sweet enough, while harvesting fruit that is too ripe (overripe) will affect the papaya’s shelf life, making it short and easily damaged. Damage by various factors, including 20-26% due to rot, 2-4% due to overcooking and 10% due to mechanical damage. This research aimed to determine the maturity phase and type of packaging material that effectively extends the shelf life of callina papaya fruit.

This study used a completely randomized design with two factors and all treatment combinations were repeated three times. The treatments used were the maturity phase and the type of packaging material: P0: no wrapping (control), P1: Newspaper, P2: Plastic Wrap: LDPE (Low Density Polyethylene) and P3: Polyethylene (PE) Net foam. Observation parameters include colour change, weight loss, fruit hardness level, Vitamin C content, TSS (Total Soluble solids), percentage of disease severity and intensity of disease attacks.

The green maturity phase and plastic wrap were the best treatments to maintain the quality of papaya fruit.