Standardization of postharvest calcium treatment for retaining storage quality of pear cv. ‘bartlett’

The study was undertaken to assess the effects of calcium chloride (CaCl₂) treatment and storage condition on quality of pear fruit cv. Bartlett. The experiment was carried out in 2014–15 freshly harvested pear fruits were treated (dip treatment) with different concentrations of CaCl₂ (1, 2, 3, 4%) for different time interval (10, 20 and 30 min) respectively. The effects of postharvest CaCl₂ applications on shelflife and quality attributes during storage were determined as physiological loss in weight (PLW), fruit firmness, total phenols, calcium concentration, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content, TSS and sugars (total and reducing). The fruits treated with calcium chloride showed improved fruit firmness and fruit calcium content at the same time reduced physiological loss in weight and retained higher total phenols, TSS and sugars (total and reducing) after 19 days of storage period while, the control fruits spoiled on 13^th day of sampling. Present investigation suggested that 4% calcium chloride dip for 20, 30 min and 3% for 30 min, retained highest physico-chemical characteristics and maintained storage quality of fruits up to 19 days thus, dipping the fresh fruits in 3% CaCl₂ solution for 30 min can maintain the storage quality of the fruits near to fresh fruits and facilitate distribution of the fruits over longer distances.