TITLE:
Effect of Postharvest Treatments on Quality and Shelf Life of Mandarin (Citrus reticulata Blanco)
AUTHORS:
Pradeep Raj Rokaya, Dilli Ram Baral, Durga Mani Gautam, Arjun Kumar Shrestha, Krishna Prasad Paudyal
KEYWORDS:
Mandarin, Fruit Quality, Postharvest Treatments, Palatability Rating and Postharvest Loss in Weight
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Plant Sciences,
Vol.7 No.7,
May
20,
2016
ABSTRACT: Nepal
produces large quantity of mandarin (Citrus
reticulata Blanco) annually but faces big losses due to improper
postharvest treatments. The experiment was carried out during 2012-2013 with
the objective of assessing the effect of different postharvest treatments on
quality and shelf life of mandarin. The postharvest treatments were: wax
emulsion at 10%, bavistin at 0.1%, wax at 10% with bavistin at 0.1%, calcium
chloride at 1%, Jeevatu at 5% along with untreated fruits as a control. The
experiment was conducted for four weeks of storage at ambient condition in Nepal
Agricultural Research Council, Khumaltar, Kathmandu. Wax in combination with
bavistin was found as the most effective in reducing the physiological loss in
weight, whereas bavistin proved to reduce decay loss up to four weeks of
storage. The fruits treated with wax alone and with combination of bavistin
retained maximum firmness, juice percentage, vitamin C and palatability rating
during the storage. The minimum total soluble solid and maximum titrable
acidity were recorded in the fruits treated with wax plus bavistin. The present
findings indicate that mandarin can be stored up to four weeks when treated
with wax as well as wax with bavistin in the condition with 14°C - 18°C temperature and 45% -
73% relative humidity.