Pre-harvest treatments enhances the post-harvest quality of papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Red Lady
Downloads
Published
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2025.82.2.8Keywords:
Carica papaya L, fruit quality, Ascorbic acid, TSSIssue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 SHARVESH S, Sathappan CT, Kandasamy R

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Papaya stands as a significant fruit crop in India, ranking fifth in importance after banana. The Red Lady variety, particularly thriving in Tamil Nadu, has gained widespread popularity domestically and in export markets. However, ensuring consistent high-quality fruit reaching consumers remains a challenge. Addressing this issue, an experiment conducted at a farmer’s field, Ammampalayam, Attur taluk, Salem district during 2020-2021 aimed to assess pre-harvest chemical treatments’ impact on post-harvest papaya quality. Papaya plants were subjected to a series of spray treatments including NAA, potassium chloride, potassium nitrate (as a potassium source), calcium chloride, calcium nitrate and calcium sulfate (as a calcium source). Additionally, a combination treatment of NAA @ 100 ppm with potassium and calcium sources at 1.5% was applied at 21 days after flower anthesis onto the fruits. A control group was sprayed with plain water. These treatments were repeated six times every two weeks. The application of 1.5% calcium chloride (CaCl2) significantly enhanced fruit quality, leading to increased total soluble solids and ascorbic acid levels. Treatment with 1.5% calcium chloride (T5) significantly increased the quality parameters, showing higher total soluble solids and ascorbic acid content, while acidity significantly decreased compared to the control. Throughout the storage period, all treatments maintained a low pH, suggesting papaya fruits had a low degree of acidity. However, the treatment with 1.5% calcium chloride stood out for its comprehensive enhancement of post-harvest quality parameters.Abstract
How to Cite
Downloads
1. Asgharzade, A., Valizade, G.A. and Babaeian, M. 2012. Effect of calcium chloride (CaCl2) on some quality characteristics of apple fruits in Shirvan region. Afr. J. Microbiol. Res. 6(9): 2000-2003. 2. Bisen, S., Thakur, R.S. and Tembhare, D. 2014. Effect of pre-harvest spray of calcium nitrate and gibberellic acid alone and in combination on growth, yield and post-harvest behavior of guava fruits. An Int. Q. J. Environ. Sci. 5: 56-62. 3. Chadha, K.L. 1992. Scenario of papaya production and utilization in India. Indian J. Hort. 49(2): 97-119. 4. Desai, V.N. 2016. Influence of pre-harvest spraying treatments of chemicals and plant growth regulators on quality parameters and shelf life of sapota [Manilkara achras (Mill.) Forsberg] fruits cv. Kalipatti. M.Sc. Thesis, Anand Agricultural University, Anand, Gujarat. 5. Domínguez, I., Ferreres, F., Riquelme, F.P., Font, R. and Gil, M.I. 2012. Influence of preharvest application of fungicides on the postharvest quality of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.). Postharvest Biol. Technol. 72: 1–10. 6. Hussain, M.A., Mahdy, E.L. and Ibrahim, T.K. 2001. Effect of calcium chloride and gibberellic acid treatments on ‘Anna’ and ‘Dorset’ Golden apples during storage. Assiut J. Agric. Sci. 32:185-200. 7. Ismail, O.M., Abd El-Moniem, E.A.A., Abd-Allah, A.S.E. and El-Naggar, M.A.A. 2010. Influence of some post-harvest treatments on guava fruits. Agric. Biol. J. North Am. 1(6): 1309-1318. 8. Karemera, N.U. and Habimana, S. 2014. Effect of pre-harvest calcium chloride on postharvest behavior of mango fruits (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Alphonso. Universal J. Agric. Res. 2(3): 119-125. 9. Kumar, L.S.S. and Abraham, A. 1943. The papaya its botany, culture and uses. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 5(7): 45-49. 10. Lal, S., Kumar, D., Singh, D., Ahmed, N., Kumar, R. and Dar, G. 2011. Effect of pre-harvest application of calcium chloride and gibberellic acid on shelf-life and post-harvest quality of apricot (Prunus americana L.) cv. Harcot. J. Hort.Sci. 6(1): 46-51. 11. Lara, I. 2013. Preharvest sprays and theireffects on the postharvest quality of fruit. Stewart Postharvest Review. 3: 1-12. 12. Mason, J.L., Jasmin, J.J. and Granger, R.L. 1975. Softening of McIntosh apples reduced by postharvest dip in calcium chloride solution plus thickeners. Hort. Sci. 10: 524-525. 13. Moor, U., Toome, M. and Luik, A. 2005. Effect of different calcium compounds on postharvest quality of apples. Agron. Res. 4(2): 543-548. 14. Panse, V.G. and Sukhatme, P.V. 1985. Statistical methods for Agricultural workers, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, 381 p. 15. Patel, H.A., Patel, M.J., Vasara, R., Patel, N.G.and Sutariya, N.K. 2017. Effect of pre-harvest spray of calcium on bio-chemical parameters of sapota [Manilkara achras (Mill.) Forsberg] Fruits cv. Kalipatti. J. Pharmacogn. Phytochem. 6(5):712-715. 16. Selvaraj, Y., Pal, D.K., Subramaniam, M.D. and Iyer, C.P.A. 1982. Changes in the chemical composition of four cultivars of papaya during growth and development. J. Hort. Sci. 57: 135-143. 17. Singh, A.K., Singh, C.P. and Chauhan, P. 2012. Effect of pre-harvest chemical treatments and mulching on quality and marketability of Dashehari mango. Indian J. Hort. 69(4): 462-466. 18. Singh, P., Kumar, S., Maji, S., Kunar, A. and Yadav, Y.D. 2012. Effect of calcium chloride on postharvest changes in papaya fruits. Asian J. Hort. 7(1): 113-117. 19. Wills, R.B.H., McGlasson, W.B., Graham, D., Lee, T.H. and Hall, E.G. 1989. Postharvest: an introduction to the physiology and handling of fruit and vegetables, 3rd edn., NSW University Press, Kensington. 20. Wojcik, P. 2001. ‘Jonagold’ apple fruit quality as influenced by fall sprays with calcium chloride at high rates. J. Plant Nutr. 24: 1925-1936. 21. Zhu, Y., Yu, J., Brecht, J.K., Jiang, T. and Zheng, X. 2016. Pre-harvest application of oxalic acid increases quality and resistance to Penicillium expansum in kiwi fruit during postharvest storage. Food Chem. 190: 537–543. 22. Zoffoli, J.P., Latorre, B.A. and Naranjo, P. 2009. Preharvest applications of growth regulators and their effect on postharvest quality of table grapes during cold storage. Postharvest Biol. Technol. 51: 183–192.
References
Similar Articles
- Jai Prakash, Kanhaiya Singh, A.K. Goswami, A.K. Singh, Comparison of plant growth, yield, fruit quality and biotic stress incidence in papaya var. Pusa Nanha under polyhouse and open field conditions , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 72 No. 02 (2015): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- N.A. Deshmukh, H. Rymbai, A.K. Jha, P. Lyngdoh, S.K. Malhotra, Effect of thinning time and fruit spacing on fruit maturity, yield, size, peel colour and quality attributes of peach cv. Flordasun , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 74 No. 01 (2017): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Anirudh Thakur, Variations in the hybrid progeny of low chill white × yellow fleshed peaches , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 79 No. 4 (2022): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- S. Lal, N. Ahmed, M.K. Verma, O.C. Sharma, J.I. Mir, Genetic variability, character association and path analysis for yield and yield contributing traits in peach , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 73 No. 04 (2016): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Akanksha Sharma, R.K Dogra, D.S Thakur, V.S Rana, Genetic studies on important horticultural traits using line × tester analysis in pomegranate , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 78 No. 02 (2021): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Rehana Javid, W.M. Wani, G.H. Rather, N.A. Ganai, Influence of irrigation levels and phenological stages on yield and quality attributes of sweet cherry cv. Regina , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 79 No. 1 (2022): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- T. K. Hazarika, Laltluangkimi ., Physico-chemical characterization of wild and semi wild Indian gooseberry from Mizoram, North-East India , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 76 No. 04 (2019): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- M.K. Gurjar, R.A. Kaushik, R.S. Rathore, D.K. Sarolia, Growth, yield and fruit quality of Kinnow mandarin as affected through foliar application of zinc and boron , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 75 No. 01 (2018): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Mitali Gautam, Sarabdeep Kour, Manpreet Singh, Iqbal Jeelani, Iqbal Jeelani, Iqbal Jeelani, Iqbal Jeelani, Bharat Bhushan, Kiran Kour, Rakesh Kumar, Chemical manipulations in the fruit yield and quality of Shan-e-Punjab peach , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 77 No. 03 (2020): Indian Journal of Horticulture
- Priyanka Dahiya, Kiran Kour, Parshant Bakshi, Sarabdeep Kour, D.B. Singh, Bharat Bhushan, Correlation and path analysis using growth, flowering, fruiting and biochemical parameters in cape gooseberry , Indian Journal of Horticulture: Vol. 79 No. 02 (2022): Indian Journal of Horticulture
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.