Changes in Quality of Oriental Melon ‘Smartkkul’ During Vessel Transportation

Abstract

This study was carried out to assess different postharvest treatments of oriental melon (Cucumis melo var. makuwa Makino) for vessel export to Singapore and to investigate the competitiveness of Korean oriental melon in local markets in Singapore. Oriental melon fruits were grown and harvested from a commercial greenhouse in Seongju, Korea. Oriental melons were treated with 5 different applications: washing with water and 5-kg bulk packaging in a corrugated box covered with polypropylene film (control), washing with water and 5-kg bulk packaging in a corrugated box covered with polyethylene film coated with pegmatite (W+B+F), the W+B+F treatment with the addition of absorption paper (W+B+F+P), washing with water and small packaging, in which two oriental melons were packaged in a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tray, and 8 trays were placed into each corrugated box (W+S), and washing with 0.5% chitosan solution and small packaging (CW+S). After the treatments, the melon fruits were stored for 1 day at 13°C followed by a 9-day transportation to Singapore at 3°C in a shipping container, and a 3-day distribution to the markets at 18°C. The control treatment resulted in the highest and the fastest weight loss. The W+B+F treatment was effective in reducing surface browning of oriental melon and marketability was the highest at 71.4% with this treatment after arrival in Singapore. The W+S and CW+S treatments showed no decay 3 days after arrival in Singapore. The firmness of W+C+F-treated melon fruit was higher than in the other treatments during distribution at 18°C after export. The soluble solids content of the seed was higher than in the flesh of oriental melon fruit. This study indicated that the W+B+F treatment of oriental melon before export was effective in maintaining freshness during export to Singapore.