Influence of fruit coating and storage on ripening, spoilage and fruit quality of Mangifera indica

Abstract

To determine a sustainable method of prolonging shelf life of mango fruits, a study was conducted to investigate the influence of coating and other methods of storage on fruit ripening, spoilage and quality of Mangifera indica 'Saigon'. The fruits were collected from the mango orchard of National Horticultural Research Institute Ibadan, Nigeria at matured green stage. They were subjected to different treatments: (i) coating with wax, (ii) shea butter, (iii) keeping in pot-in-pot with KMNO4, and (iv) storage on open shelf in the laboratory (control). The treatments were assigned in a complete randomized design replicated three times. Coating with shea butter significantly (p˃0.05) delayed fruit ripening rate by 61% when compared with open shelf at the 8th day after storage (DAS), while there was no significant difference between ripening of fruits in pot-in-pot and those on open shelf. By 14 DAS fruit spoilage was 100% in pot-in-pot and open shelf while it was less than 50% for those coated with shea butter. The spoilage organisms isolated were Colletotrichum sp. and Aspergillus niger. Fruit analyses revealed that the titratable acidity, Brix, and pH of the fruits changed with duration of storage and treatment. Thus, shea butter coating is a good alternative to commercial wax to preserve the quality and the postharvest life of mango fruits.