STANDARDIZATION OF POSTHARVEST TREATMENTS TO ENHANCE THE SHELF LIFE OF ATHALAKKAI (MOMORDICA CYMBALARIA)

Abstract

The study was carried out to Postharvest Handling Techniques for Athalakkai to Improve Storage Life (Momordica cymbalaria) .There were five treatments in factor one Viz.,C1- Control (No coating), C2 - Ascorbic acid @ 0.5 %, C3 - Calcium chloride @ 0.3 %, C4- Aloe vera extract @ 2% and  C5- Gelatin starch – 5% and six treatments in factor two, P1- Control (Without packaging), P2- Polyethylene bag 100 gauge with 0.25 % vent, P3- Polyethylene bag 100 gauge with 0.50 % vent, P4- Polyethylene bag 200 gauge with 0.25 % vent, P5- Polyethylene bag 200 gauge with 0.50 % vent, P6- Poly shrink wrapping with three replications. Among the different treatment, best one was subjected to storage conditions Viz., Ambient condition (S1) and Refrigerated condition (S2).  The results revealed that, fruits treated with Calcium chloride @ 0.3 % packed with  poly shrink wrapping showed significantly lowest physiological loss in weight (PLW per cent), highest fruit firmness (Kg cm-1) and longest shelf life (days) were recorded in the fruits stored under refrigerated condition (S2).