Impacts of some eco-friendly methods on the storage life of tomato fruits

Abstract

The objective of current research was to explore the influence of several eco-friendly techniques, including modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), edible coating (EC), heat treatment and edible coating enriched with centaury oil (EO), on the postharvest storage of tomato fruit. Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) cv. Newton were harvested red ripe and used in this experiment. Experimental studies were established on 5th February 2023. A total of 8 treatments were tested. They were: 1) control, 2) MAP, 3) MAP+EC, 4) EC, 5) MAP+EC+EO, 6) EC+EO, 7) hot air and 8) MAP+hot air. The experiments were continued for 30 days and the measurement points time intervals were defined as 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 days (six different measurements points), 384 fruits in total were utilized in the storage studies and 8 extra fruits were used at the start as a control to identify the fruit's initial qualities. The fruits were kept for 30 days at 6 to 8 °C and 90 to 95 % relative humidity. According to the study's findings, each treatment had a significant impact on the fruit's decay incidence, weight loss, vitamin C content fruit firmness, chilling damage and SSC. The study found that all treatments significantly improved the quality of the tomato fruits, except for SSC. The best results were obtained from the MAP+EC and MAP+EC+EO treatments. Tomato fruits can be stored at a temperature range of 6 to 8°C for up to 20 days, demonstrating the effectiveness of the treatments.

Keywords

• Edible coating
• Heat treatment
• Modified atmosphere package
• Fruit decay
• Weight loss

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