Application of 1-methylcyclopropene on mango fruit (Cv. Kesar): potential for shelf life enhancement and retention of quality.

Abstract

The present investigation was carried out to study the effect of gaseous application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on quality and shelf life of mango fruits of Cv. Kesar. The freshly harvested matured mango fruits were washed, cleaned and treated with fungicide at 500ppm concentration for 10min. The fruits were then subjected to 1-MCP treatment at different concentrations (500, 1000, 1500, 2000ppb) and exposed for 18 and 24h at 20°C temperature in an air tight chamber along with control sample. The results indicated that the ripening in the early stages of mango was delayed by 1-MCP and shelf life of the fruits was increased with increase in the concentration of 1-MCP, also the physico-chemical changes such as percent physiological loss in weight of fruit, total soluble solids and colour was slowly increased and ascorbic acid content was effectively reduced. 1-MCP treatment of 2000ppb for 24h exposure time gave the best results for percent physiological loss in weight of fruit from 6.1 to 13% and ascorbic acid content from 80.28 to 22.34mg/100g, total soluble solids increased from 7.3 to 16.23 °Brix and the colour was improved from 50.9 to 68.6h with shelf life of 20days.