Effect of post-harvest treatments on shelf-life and quality of Kinnow mandarin

Abstract

The experiment was conducted during 2007-2008 with the objective of determining suitable treatment for better shelf-life and quality of mandarin. The experiment was laid out in 3×3 factorial randomized block design (RBD) comprising nine treatments. The fruits of all the treatments were packed in 200 gauge polythene bags of 55 cm × 35 cm size with 30 perforated holes of 30 mm size. The treatment combination W2C1 (waxol (8%) + captan (0.2%) was found better in terms of physiological loss in weight, total soluble solids, acidity, reducing sugars, total sugar, vitamin C and β-carotene, i.e. minimum physiological loss in weight (3.56%), highest TSS (8.43%), highest total sugars (10.78%), highest reducing sugar (4.84%), non-reducing sugar (5.95%), acidity (0.735%), vitamin C (19.41mg/100g) and β-carotene (6.35 IU/ 100 g) contents.