Abstract
Spine gourd (Momordica dioica) is a tropical under-utilized vegetable (known as King of Gourds) that belongs to family Cucurbitaceae. It has higher demand in Asia and Sri Lanka due to its distinct taste and promising health properties known for over thousands of years. However, vulnerability to postharvest damages due to climacteric ripening behavior results in short shelf-life of this commodity. It significantly affects their market potential. The present study attempts to extend shelf-life while maintaining postharvest qualities in spine gourd by using 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and Low-Density Polyethylene (LDPE) wrapping at ambient temperature (27±1 °C). The experiment was conducted according to Completely Randomized Factorial Design using eight treatment combinations: 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 μL L-1 1-MCP treated for 15 hours and stored with and without LDPE wrapping under ambient temperature. Physical parameters; fresh weight loss, firmness, peel color changes and chemical parameters; total soluble solids, titratable acidity were evaluated five days after treatment. Fresh weight loss significantly declined in wrapped spine gourd fruits. The highest firmness was observed in chemically treated fruits with LDPE wrapping. Yellowing of fruits decreased with 0.5 μL L-1 1-MCP and LDPE wrapping. Total soluble solid content was lesser in fruit wrapped with LDPE. Thus, it can be concluded that some postharvest qualities of spine gourd are positively affected by 0.5 μL L-1 1-MCP concentration with LDPE wrapping.
Highlights
Postharvest management is the main quality dependent factor of any harvested horticultural commodity
The experiment was conducted at the Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka as Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with factorial structure
Lower fresh weight loss was revealed by wrapped fruits (T5, T6, T7 and T8) than the non-wrapped fruits (T1, T2, T3, T4)
Summary
Postharvest management is the main quality dependent factor of any harvested horticultural commodity. Harvested commodities are made to undergo postharvest treatments to minimize losses and increase its shelf-life. Worldwide postharvest losses are as high as 30 to 40 % in developing countries due to ineffective postharvest treatments (Jiang et al, 1999). Spine gourd (Momordica dioica) is a perennial, dioecious, cucurbitaceous vegetable with high demand in Asian countries (Ratnayake et al, 2019). Fruit of spine gourd is free from cholesterol and highly energetic (45.74Kcal) (Ram et al, 2004). It contains a remarkable amount of carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, vitamins and minerals that increase its market demand, for both processed and fresh consumption. Preservation of this important vegetable degrades rapidly resulting yellowing, softening and senescence
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