Effect of various pre-harvest treatments on storage quality of peach cv. July Elberta

The study was undertaken to assess the effect of various pre-harvest treatments (calcium chloride, paclobutrazol and cycocel) on storage quality of peach cv. July Elberta. The trees were maintained under a uniform schedule of cultural operations throughout the season and subjected to preharvest treatments of various chemicals like calcium chloride, paclobutrazol and cycocel at three different concentrations applied at 6 and 7 weeks after flowering. Among all the pre-harvest treatments, T3 (1.0% CaCl2) treatment overall has shown that besides reducing physiological weight loss (PLW) and spoilage, it also effectively retained firmness, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid and pectin content, while, at the same time these treatments were also effective in reducing the rate of respiratory and enzymatic activity. Out of the 13 treatments, T3 (1.0% CaCl2) proved to be most effective however, it was at par with T6 (300 ppm paclobutrazol) and T2 (0.75% CaCl2) and the study concludes that CaCl2 preharvest application has a beneficial effect on extending the shelf life of peach fruits.