Studies on storage behavior of Assam lemon (Citrus limon Burm)

Abstract

Assam lemon is one of the most important fruit of Assam and it is used for culinary purpose due to its fragrance and acidic content. Though Citrus fruits are non-climacteric in nature, depending on the temperature and storage duration, chemical composition of fruits may change. In this experiment different treatments viz T0: Control, T1: Chlorination (4%), T2: Chlorination (4%) + Polyethylene (300 gauge thickness), T3: Chlorination (4%) + perforated polythene (with pinholes), T4: Chlorination (4%) + individual shrink wrapping, T5: Chlorination (4%) + tray packaging used to study the storage life and post harvest quality of Assam Lemon fruits. The effect of these treatments on citric acid, respiration, fruit texture and colour were studied. Among all the treatments, individual shrink wrapping (T4) of Assam Lemon fruit stored at ambient temperature (30-320C and 80–85% RH) was found to be beneficial because it helped to extend the shelf life without deterioration in quality of fruit. Shrink wrap packaging retained the freshness, colour and firmness of the fruit up to 1 month without any decay