Effect of postharvest treatments on shelf life and quality of litchi stored at ambient temperature

Abstract

Treatments that extend the postharvest life are essential in developing countries like Bangladesh, where the infrastructure of the cold chain is often lacking. The shelf life and quality of litchi fruits treated with, calcium chloride, oxalic acid 2 mM + bavistin 0.05% + ice, ice treatment, ice + oxalic acid 2 mM + bavistin 0.05%, ice + oxalic acid 2 mM, wash with clean water and control (no treatment); and two postharvest packaging system, i.e., non-packaging and low-density polyethylene (LDPE) packaging were studied. All tested treatments indicated a significant delay in the change of disease incidence, shelf life, physiological loss in weight, firmness, pericarp browning index, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity, vitamin C content, and pH in postharvest litchi fruits compared to control. The decreased rate was lower in physiological weight loss and disease incidence in fruits coated with oxalic acid 2 mM + bavistin 0.05% + ice in combination with the use of polyethylene bags at ambient temperature.