Effect of Post-Harvest Treatments on Enzyme Activity and Quality of Cold Stored Ber Fruit

Abstract

Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk) fruits are perishable in nature and have poor shelf- life. To extend the storage life of ber fruits different post-harvest treatments, like CaCl 2 (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0%), Ca(NO 3 ) 2 (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0%), gibberellic acid (GA 3 ) (20, 40 and 60 ppm) and Bavistin (0.1%) were given to fruits and their effect was studied on the storage life and quality of ‘Umran’ ber ( Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk) fruits under cold storage conditions. Fruits of uniform size and colour were harvested, from healthy plants, and subjected to post harvest dip of different chemicals, before packing in CFB boxes and placed in cold storage (3-5°C and 85-90% RH) They have been evaluated after 10, 20 and 30 days of storage for physiological loss in weight (PLW), firmness, pectin methyl esterase (PME) activity and palatability rating. The PLW increased and fruit firmness decreased during storage at each treatment. The sensory rating increased up to 10 days at all treatments, except control but subsequently it decreased during storage. The increase rate in PME activity was faster, up to 10 days, in untreated fruits, while treated fruits showed slower rise in PME activity, up to 20 days with a decline afterwards. It can be concluded that ber fruits can be stored up to 20 days by post-harvest treatment using GA 3 at 60 ppm, with acceptable quality.