Abstract
Modified atmosphere (MA) packages were prepared for Royal Delicious apple with an aim to achieve the optimum storage atmosphere within the packages in minimum possible time. Apples were harvested at their commercial maturity and respirtion rate of the fruits was measured at temperatures between 0 ? 25°C. On the basis of preliminary investigations, air composition with 3% O2 and 3% CO2 was found appropriate for MA packaging of apple. The MA package was finalized with a size of 24 cm x 19 cm for 1 kg fill-weight of apples. As the gas transmission rates of individual polymeric films could not match the gas transmission requirements of MAP, judicious combinations of the films were made to bring gas transmission characteristics close to the required values. The equilibrium concentrations of O2 and CO2 were established within 36-72 h under different storage temperatures. The mathematical model, developed applying enzymatic kinetics based respiration equation coupled with the Arrhenius model, effectively predicted the equilibrium time and the levels of O2 and CO2 at equilibrium. MA packages were evaluated through assessment of different quality parameters of apple during storage and were found to increase its shelf life by 125-210% that of unpacked fruits at different storage temperatures.
Highlights
The Delicious group of cultivars predominates the apple market and the Royal Delicious apples account for 50-60% of the total apple production in India
The results indicated 78 to 82% reduction in respiration rate
Most of the packages have established equilibrium at such levels of O2 and CO2, which were fairly close to the target levels
Summary
The Delicious group of cultivars predominates the apple market and the Royal Delicious apples account for 50-60% of the total apple production in India. Post-harvest constraints like limited shelf life, susceptibility to many diseases and pest, faster fruit ripening at warmer temperatures etc. Limit apples storage period (Kaul and Gupta, 1987; Kaushal and Sharma, 1995). It is important to prolong the storage period and improve its keeping quality during transport and marketing. Application of improved packaging systems is one such possibility. Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) is simple, economical, and effective way of extending shelf life of fresh commodities (Sandhya, 2010; Nicolais et al, 2011b). The modification of the Received 24 March 2012; Revised 02 November 2012; Accepted 18 November 2012; Published Online 01 March 2013
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