Shelf Life Of Tomato Fruits Research Articles

Preparation of Cellulose Fiber Loaded with CuO Nanoparticles for Enhanced Shelf Life and Quality of Tomato Fruit

The present study reports on the preparation of a cellulose fiber (CF) composite from D. lutescens, combined with copper oxide nanoparticles (DL@CF/CuO), to prolong the shelf life of tomatoes after harvest. The isolated cellulose fiber material was comprehensively characterized using XRD, FTIR, and FE-SEM analyses. The DLCF and DL@CF/CuO nanoparticles exhibited crystalline cellulose, as indicated by the XRD investigation. Both DLCF and DL@CF/CuO showed O-H and C-H FTIR spectra with identifiable vibrational peaks. The FE-SEM images depicted the dispersion of DL@CF/CuO-based fibers in a cellulose fiber matrix containing CuO nanoparticles. A 0.3% (wt/wt), a solution of DL@CF/CuO was coated onto the surface of early ripening tomato fruits. After a 25-day storage period at 25–29 °C and 85% RH, the results showed a significant extension in the shelf life of the tomato fruits, in line with changes in physiological properties and fruit quality. The extension of shelf life in tomato fruit epidermis treated with DL@CF/CuO was confirmed through FE-SEM analysis. L929 fibroblast cells were treated with the developed DL@CF/CuO nanocomposite, and no signs of toxicity were detected up to 75 µg/mL. Additionally, the DL@CF/CuO nanocomposite exhibited significant antifungal activity against Aspergillus flavus. In conclusion, this study provides novel insights for sustainable food security and waste control in the agricultural and food industries.

Assessing the Influence of Different Edible Coating Methods on the Shelf Life and Biochemical Characteristic of Tomato

The study investigated the " Assessing the influence of different edible coating methods on the shelf life and biochemical characteristic of Tomato" during storage. The experiment was laid out in the CRD with three replications. Each replication was comprised of ten treatments consisting of post-harvest edible coating materials viz., Aloe vera gel (10%, 20% and 30%), Bee wax (3%, 6% and 9 %), Guar gum (1.0%, 1.5% and 2.0%) and control (without coating) were used for tomato fruits and various parameters were analyzed over a storage period of 15 days. The results indicated significant influences of the coatings on pH, total soluble solids (TSS), ascorbic acid content, TSS: acid ratio and sugar content. Overall, Aloe vera gel coatings, particularly at higher concentrations, showed the most promising effects in maintaining the quality and extending the shelf life of tomato fruits. This research underscores the potential of edible coatings as a sustainable approach to postharvest management, contributing to reduced food loss and enhanced food security.

Effect of Different Post-Harvest Treatments on Quality and Shelf Life of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Fruits During Storage

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) is a widely consumed vegetable crop worldwide. The perishability of fruits increased due to the high level of moisture which reduces quality and shelf life. Thus, this study was conducted in Kanchanpur, Nepal from 11th July to 1st August 2022 to investigate the impact of postharvest application of various chemical substances and plant extracts on the post-harvest life of tomatoes throughout the storage. The pink stage of the Heemsohna variety of tomato fruit was harvested and dipped in various treatment solutions; 0.1 % Gibberellic acid (GA3), 1.5% calcium chloride (CaCl2), 10% Aloe vera gel, and 15% Neem leaf extract (NLE) or distilled water as control. After that, the fruits were air-dried and kept at ambient temperatures. The experiment was set up using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 3 replications and 5 treatments. At three-day intervals throughout storage, the physicochemical properties and shelf life of tomato fruit were examined. The different postharvest treatments caused the changes in total soluble solids, titratable acidity, decaying loss, and weight loss to be delayed compared to the control. With 0.1% GA3 and 1.5% CaCl2, fruit had the lowest decay percentage followed by aloe vera gel and NLE. Similarly, the fruits dipped in 1.5% CaCl2, had shown maximum shelf life of 21 days. Hence, it was determined that postharvest treatment with GA3, CaCl2, Aloe vera gel, and NLE possesses the capacity to keep quality, extend shelf life, and delay spoilage.

Endocellulase SlGH9-21 significantly improves drought resistance and storage capacity of tomato

Drought, one of the most important abiotic factors affecting plant growth, causes a large reduction in tomato production every year. Tomato, a berry fruit and vegetable that can be eaten fresh or cooked, has rich nutritional value. However, most of ripe fruits show softening of pericarp, which leads to damage easily during transportation, and shorten the shelf life. Fruit mechanical strength is important to the texture, transport resistance and shelf life of tomato fruit. We found a natural tomato mutant in the field, which showed excellent drought resistance ability and late ripening characteristics. The target gene Solyc09g075360 (SlGH9-21) was obtained through transcriptome data screening. After the gene was silenced, tomatoes improved their drought resistance by reducing stomatal aperture and increasing stem vessel diameter. We also found that silencing of the SlGH9-21 gene delayed the ripening of tomato fruit and improved fruit firmness. Compared with the control, the ripening of the fruit of SlGH9-21 gene-silenced plants was delayed by approximately 10 days, which increased the fruit firmness and storage tolerance and reduced the water loss rate of fruit. Overall, the study of tomato stress response mechanisms and the identification of key genes regulating fruit hardness are beneficial to the improvement of tomato resistance. It is also conducive to the improvement of tomato quality. The research results can lay a foundation for the enhancement of fruit storage tolerance and stress resistance.

Overexpression of Sly-miR167a delayed postharvest chilling injury of tomato fruit under low temperature storage

Chilling injury (CI) of tomato fruit leads to the deterioration of fruit quality, thereby shortening the shelf life of tomato fruit. The present experiment investigates the effect of Sly-miR167a on postharvest cold tolerance of tomato fruit. Results demonstrated that overexpression of Sly-miR167a in tomato fruit effectively reduced electrolyte leakage (EL), hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and CI index during low temperature storage. Compared with wild-type (WT) and the silencing miR167a by short tandem target mimic (miR167a-STTM) fruit, overexpression of Sly-miR167a (miR167a-OE) fruit accumulated more ascorbic acid (AsA), proline, lycopene, and phenolics, and also maintained higher activities of antioxidant enzymes. At low temperatures, miR167a-OE fruit sustained better quality, and had lower expression levels of ARF6a, higher levels of ethylene production and higher expression levels of CBF1. Overexpression of Sly-miR167a delayed the appearance of CI symptoms, improving the chilling tolerance of postharvest tomato fruit.

Gene-specific silencing of SlPL16, a pectate lyase coding gene, extends the shelf life of tomato fruit

Pectate lyase plays an important role in fruit development and ripening. Although earlier studies showed SlPL, a pectate lyase encoding gene, functions dominantly in tomato fruit softening, the functions of many other pectate lyase encoding genes involved in tomato fruit development and softening remain unknown. Here, gene-specific silencing of SlPL16 (Solyc06g083580) by RNA interference (RNAi) resulted in reduced pectate lyase enzyme activity, pericarp thickness, and soluble sugar content, and increased both the firmness and shelf life of tomato fruit. Through microscopic observation, it was found that the SlPL16-RNAi pericarp had reduced cell size, in comparison to the wild-type (WT). Moreover, gene silencing of SlPL16 resulted in the down-regulation of genes involved in cell wall degradation and pectin synthesis at various fruit developmental stages. Together, these results indicate that SlPL16 provides an important supplement of pectate lyase activity in tomato fruit softening, along with a fundamental role in cell expansion during early fruit development. Additionally, this study provides a potential gene locus in genetic engineering to improve fruit storage tolerance.

Gum arabic and beeswax as edible coatings for extending the postharvest shelf life of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum. L) fruit

Edible coatings can provide an alternative for extending the postharvest shelf life of fresh fruits and vegetables. The effect of two edible coatings and their combinations were studied on some physical qualities of tomato fruits. Gum arabic was formulated from the exudate of Acacia tree, and beeswax was sourced from the Horticulture Department, University for Development Studies. Cassava starch was used as a plasticizer for both materials. Tomato fruits were treated with gum arabic, beeswax, and a combination of the two at concentrations 5, 10, and 15%. Treated and untreated fruits were examined for their weight loss and decay during 20 days of storage and sampling were done at 4 days intervals. Fruits coated with gum arabic alone did not show much positive impact on weight loss and decay when compared to the control fruits. The beeswax alone however showed a positive impact on weight loss and decay. Furthermore, the combination of the beeswax and gum arabic resulted in the highest performance with reduced weight loss of 26.7%, and 13.9% decay after 20 days in storage. Hence, the combination of gum arabic and beeswax could extend the postharvest shelf life of tomato fruits at 29˚C and 72 - 75% temperature and relative humidity, respectively.

The Shelf Life of Tomato Fruits (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Treated with Extracts of Two Medicinal Plants: Azadirachta indica and Vernonia amygdalina

Tomato remains one of the most nutritive edible berries but challenged by incessant attack and spoilage by fungi among others. The negative effects of synthetic preservatives have shifted attention to bio-preservatives. This study investigated the shelf-life of post-harvest tomato fruits treated with the two medicinal plants: Azadirachta indica (neem leaf) and Vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf) extracts. Fresh tomato fruits and leaves of both plants were sourced from Lokoja. The leaves were air-dried, pulverized and extracted with distilled water and absolute ethanol. The extracts were analyzed phytochemically and graded concentrations (2.5 g/mL - 10.0 g/mL) were applied to the tomato samples in five replications each. Weight loss, appearance of fungal mycelia and deteriorations on the tomato samples were monitored for 30 days. Fungal isolates from the deteriorated samples were recovered and subjected to in vitro inhibitory activities. Alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, flavonoids and tannins were present in both extracts, except for A. indica, where saponins was not detected. Both extracts significantly (p<0.05) reduce the weight loss (63.4 %) and extended the shelf life of the tomato fruits to 24 days at 10.0 g/mL. Aspergillus niger, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizopus stolonifer and Alternaria alternata were recovered from the spoilt tomatoes. The most and least susceptible isolates were R. stolonifera (84.56 %) and A. niger (71.45 %), respectively. The bioactivities of both extracts were not significantly different (p>0.05) from each other. These findings suggest that relatively higher concentrations of both plant extracts could be potential bio-preservatives to extend the shelf life of post-harvest tomatoes.

Postharvest treatments and maturity stages impact sensory attributes and shelf life of tomato fruits var. Pearson kept in Zero Energy Cool Chamber

The investigation has been carried out under ZECC conditions located at the research farm of agriculture faculty of Kabul University, Afghanistan. The objective was to understand the effect of postharvest treatments and harvesting stages on the shelf life and sensory quality of tomato fruits. It was found that both main factors had a significant effect and the highest shelf life noted for the fruits of H1(turning color stage) and D1 (dipped in 6 % CaCl2 solution) was 26.19 and 25.17 days, respectively. At the end of the storage period, the final evaluation average scores for overall sensory attributes of turning color fruits were higher whereas it was noted lower for light red color fruits compared with initial scores. The highest scores for all attributes such as color, flesh texture, flavor, and overall acceptance were noted for the fruits of H1 and D1 respectively. Thus, the turning color stage has seen as a suitable harvesting stage and then followed by pink color stage of the tomatoes of the Pearson variety that could be considered for various purposes after storage respectively. The 6 % CaCl2 solution could increase tomatoes shelf life and maintain the quality that it had retained the fruits sensory attributes to an acceptable level

Identification of appropriate maturation stages and postharvest treatment for tomato fruits of the "Pearson" variety for local and distant markets

This study was conducted under ambient condition at the research farm of the Agriculture Faculty in Kabul University, Afghanistan. The objectives were to identify suitable harvesting maturity stages for tomato crop that will result in adequate shelf life of tomato fruits for local and distant markets. The results indicated that fruits of the turning color stage treated with 6 % CaCl2 solution had the best quality and highest shelf life (17.5 days) compared to other treatments. Whereas, based on the significant main effect the 15.38 and 14.17 days’ highest shelf life recorded for tomatoes of H1 (turning color stage) and D1 (dipped in 6 % CaCl2 solution) respectively. The TSS (oBrix) and PLW (%) increased till the end of storage life but the tomato fruits’ firmness (g cm-2) decreased. The lowest values noted as 4.79 and 4.74 (oBrix) TSS and 3.31 and 2.93 (%) PLW but the highest tomatoes firmness were 932.50 and 854.17 (g cm-2) recorded all for fruits of H1 (turning color stage) and D1 (dipped in 6 % CaCl2 solution), respectively. In conclusion, the turning color, pink color and light red color stage’s fruits of the Pearson variety are recommended harvesting of fruits of Pearson variety for the distant market, local market, and immediate use, respectively and the 6 % CaCl2 solution could increase shelf life and maintain tomato quality.

The Improvement of Tomato Shelf Life using Chitosan and Starfruit Leaf Extract as Edible Coatings

Abstract Due to the high degree of perishability and vulnerability to spoilage, tomatoes have limited marketability, which leads to extensive postharvest losses. The edible coatings are generally used to extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables; therefore, this study investigated the use of chitosan and starfruit leaf extract (SFLE) in the composition of edible coatings for tomato fruit. Firmness, total titratable acidity, reducing sugar content and microbial load were measured every 5 days for 25 days. The results showed that the addition of SLFE to chitosan did not enhance the antimicrobial effect or firmness over the effects made by a separate use of chitosan and SFLE. Both components improved the shelf life of tomato fruits compared to untreated tomatoes.

Shelf life and quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) fruits as affected by neem leaf extract dipping and beeswax coating

ABSTRACT The effect of Beeswax (BW) coating and Neem leaf extract (NLE) dipping on the shelf life of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) was investigated over a storage period of 36 days. The experiment was done by a factorial combination of four levels of NLE dipping (0, 15%, 20% and 25%) and BW coating (0, 3%, 6% and 9%) in randomized complete block design with three replications. It was observed that BW9*NLE25 significantly (P < .001) extended the shelf life of tomato fruits by eight days and effectively reduced weight loss by 55–68%, the changes in TA by 20–66.7%, PH by 6.3–14.1%, and TSS by 2.8–6.9%. Toward the end of the storage period (on the 28th day), BW9*NLE25 found to have 39.4% higher marketable fruits while reducing the percent decay by 96.1% compared to untreated tomato fruits. The study result showed that BW9*NLE25 could potentially be utilized to extend the shelf life and maintain the quality of tomato fruits by farmers, retailers, and wholesalers.

Fabrication, characterization and antifungal evaluation of polyphenolic extract activated keratin starch coating on infected tomato fruits

In recent times, the application of protein-based bio-composite edible films in postharvest preservation of food and agricultural products is attracting increased attention due to their biodegradability, eco-friendliness and sustainability. In this study, an avocado pear peel polyphenolic extract enriched keratin-starch composite film was fabricated, characterized and evaluated for antimicrobial activity against fungal infected tomato fruits after 6 days of storage at room (25 ± 2 °C) temperature. The SEM/EDX and FTIR results revealed the successful film formation with high degree of compatibility and homogeneity. Following a 6-day post-coating loss in weight of the coated tomato fruits decreased significantly (p < 0.05) with increasing extract concentration while titratable acidity showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase with increasing extract load. Ascorbic acid and lycopene contents were significantly (p < 0.05) higher in the avocado pear peel polyphenolic extract-loaded films. No significant effect was observed in catechol oxidase activity of the tomato extract across the different treatment groups. In addition, fungal growth inhibition showed a dose dependent increase consistent with avocado pear peel polyphenolic load in coated tomato fruits compared to control. Results obtained in this study showed that polyphenolic activated keratin-starch coating was able to reduce spoilage-induce weight loss as well as conserve the overall quality (including titratable acid levels, lycopene and ascorbic acid contents) of fungal-infected tomato fruit and reduce microbial growth. Therefore polyphenolic activated keratin-starch coating could serve as a sustainable and ecofriendly postharvest preservation method to prolong the shelf life of tomato fruits.

Histone deacetylase gene SlHDT1 regulates tomato fruit ripening by affecting carotenoid accumulation and ethylene biosynthesis

Fruit development and ripening is a complicated biological process, that is not only regulated by plant hormones and transcription factors, but also affected by epigenetic modifications. Histone deacetylation is an important way of epigenetic modification, and little information about it is available. In this study, an RNAi vector was constructed and transferred successfully into wild-type tomato for further research on the detailed functions of the histone deacetylation gene SlHDT1. The expression level of PSY1 was upregulated, and the transcription levels of LCY-B, LCY-E and CYC-B were downregulated, which was consistent with the increased accumulation of carotenoids. In addition, the expression levels of ethylene biosynthetic genes (ACS2, ACS4 and ACO1, ACO3), ripening-associated genes (RIN, E4, E8, PG, Pti4 and LOXB) and fruit cell wall metabolism genes (HEX, MAN, TBG4, XTH5 and XYL) were significantly upregulated further strengthening the results, including an increased ethylene content, advanced fruit ripening time and a shortened shelf life of tomato fruits. In addition, the increased total histone H3 acetylation level also provides evidence of a connection between epigenetic regulation by histone deacetylation and fruit development and ripening. Hence, SlHDT1 is a negative regulator and plays an essential role in regulating ethylene and carotenoid biosynthesis during fruit ripening through influences on the acetylation level.

Effect of Natural Waxes on Quality and Shelf Life of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Fruits

The effect of three natural waxes (bee, carnauba and jojoba) on quality and shelf-life of ‘Ergon’ tomato cultivar was evaluated.Tomato fruits were harvested at the mature-green stage from a greenhouse belonging to the College of Agricultural Studies, Sudan University of Science and Technology. Fruits were selected for uniformity of size, color and freedom from blemishes and defects, and transported in field boxes to the laboratory. The fruits were washed, treated with 0.1 % sodiumhypochlorite (Clorox, 5 %) as a disinfectant and air dried. The waxes were dissolved in olive oil (1:1) and applied by brushing over the surface of the fruits in a thin layer. The treatments were: bee wax, carnauba wax, jojoba wax and untreated (control).They were arranged in a completely randomized design with four replications. The treated and untreated fruitswere stored in carton boxes for 30 days at 18±1 ˚C and 80- 85 % relative humidity in a cold room at the Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Khartoum. Analysis of variance at significancelevel of P ≤ 0.05 was performed on the data using SBS (version 23) statistic. The results showed that the natural waxes significantly reduced losses, maintained quality and extended shelf-life of tomato fruits. The wax treatments significantly delayed fruit ripening (6, 4 and 2 days), reduced water loss (34.1, 19.4 and 9.7 %), decreased peel color (40, 20and 12 %), fruit softening (87.5, 45.0 and 27.5 %), and total soluble solids accumulation (23.2, 13.4 and 7.2 %), in fruits treated with jojoba wax, carnauba wax and bee wax, respectively, compared with un-waxed (control) fruits. Jojoba wax was most effective, followed by carnauba wax and the least was the bee wax. It is recommended that natural waxes,especially jojoba and carnauba waxes, can effectively be used to delay fruit ripening, reduce weight loss, maintain quality and extend shelf-life of tomato fruits.

A REVIEW ON POST-HARVEST HANDLING PRACTICES OF TOMATO (LYCOPERSICUM ESCULENTUM)

To minimize post-harvest losses, tomato post-harvest handling procedures are crucial. The tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) is one of the vegetables that is grown and consumed the most all over the world. A healthy, balanced diet includes tomatoes as well. Minerals, vitamins, vital amino acids, and antioxidant qualities are abundant in tomatoes. Tomatoes have a short shelf life and are extremely perishable. Post-harvest management procedures are therefore necessary to satisfy the rising population’s need for food while minimizing losses. Tomato post-harvest losses are primarily brought on by incorrect sorting and grading, in appropriate packaging, improper packaging without removing field heat, lack of storage facilities, and poor transportation. The quality and shelf life of tomato fruit is greatly impacted by handling procedures such as harvesting, precooling after harvest, washing and disinfecting, sorting and grading, packaging, storage, and transportation. Additionally, there are a variety of creative packaging and storage methods, including refrigeration storage, changed atmosphere packaging, and intelligent packaging. This review article mainly focuses on the different ways to reduce post-harvest losses of tomatoes thereby securing food security.

Coating of Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Employing Nanoemulsions Containing the Bioactive Compounds of Cactus Acid Fruits: Quality and Shelf Life

This study was aimed at evaluating the effect of a nanoemulsion containing the bioactive compounds of orange essential oil and xoconostle (Opuntia oligacantha C.F. Först) on maintaining and improving the quality of the shelf life of tomato fruits. The nanoemulsion was applied as a coating on the whole fruits during physiological maturity; the treatments were thus: Control 1 without coating (C1); Control 2 with food-grade mineral oil coating (C2); and nanoemulsions that were diluted with mineral oil at 2.5% (DN2.5), 5% (DN5), 10% (DN10), and 20% (DN20). Further, the following parameters were determined for 21 days: the percentage weight loss, firmness, colour, pH, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid content, total phenols, flavonoids, tannins, antioxidant activities DPPH and ABTS, and the histological evaluation of the pericarp of the fruits. Significant differences (p &lt; 0.05) were observed during the treatments; DN10 and DN20 obtained the best weight loss results (3.27 ± 0.31% and 3.71 ± 0.30%, respectively) compared with C1 and C2. The DN5 and DN20 textures exhibited the highest firmness (11.56 ± 0.33 and 11.89 ± 1.04 N, respectively). The antioxidant activity (DPPH on Day 21) was higher in the DN20 treatment (48.19 ± 0.95%) compared with in C1 (39.52 ± 0.30%) and C2 (38.14 ± 0.76%). Histological evaluation revealed that the nanoemulsion coating allowed a slower maturation of the cells in the pericarp of the fruits. The nanoemulsion, as a coat, improved the quality and valuable life of the tomato regarding its physicochemical and antioxidant properties, thus availing an effective alternative for conserving this fruit.

Tomato Post-Harvest Fruit Ripening in Pakistan: Effect of Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) in Inhibiting Ripening Gene Expression

Short shelf life of tomato fruits, with the unavailability of modernized handling/storage and transport practices causes ~30-40 % of yield loss which leads to great financial burden on the import of Pakistani tomatoes. There is an urgent need to adapt an easy and cost effective applicable technology for increasing the shelf life of fully ripened tomato fruits by inhibiting ethylene perception that leads to ripening and decay. This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of ethylene perception inhibitor 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on ripening of tomatoes. Physiological and molecular parameters were recorded to analyse the inhibitory effect of 1-MCP. Green tomatoes were harvested and treated with 1-MCP for 24 h and 8 days. Results of the physiological data based on colour, weight, and firmness of the fruits showed a significant delay in the onset of ripening after 1-MCP treatment. 1-MCP is known to block ethylene receptors, therefore, we used different ethylene and ripening related genes as markers to prove that 1-MCP potentially delayed tomato fruit ripening by inhibiting the ethylene pathway that in turn downregulated the ripening signalling pathway genes. Therefore, this study provides evidence that 1-MCP can effectively be used as an alternative to reduce the post-harvest tomato yield losses in Pakistan with slight optimization on the method to suit the different varieties of local tomatoes.

Preharvest Foliar Spray of Calcium Chloride on Growth, Yield, Quality, and Shelf Life Extension of Different Lowland Tomato Varieties in Malaysia

Tomato is a popularly consumed vegetable fruit and suffers from huge losses due to its high perishability. Calcium chloride (CaCl2∙2H2O) application has been shown to be an important method that can extend the shelf life of tomato fruits. The current study aimed to determine the effect of pre-harvest treatments of CaCl2 on the growth, yield, quality, and shelf-life performance of tomato varieties. Four tomato varieties known as MT-1, MT-3, 303, and 105 were sprayed with the CaCl2 solutions (0.0%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%, w/v) after seven days of fruit initiation and were sprayed every week until the first harvest. Spraying with 2% of CaCl2 showed an improvement in controlling physiological disorders such as blossom end rot (BER), weight loss, declined disease incidence, and disease severity. An increase in fruit quality was also observed as the treated fruit could maintain its shelf life up to 20 days at ambient conditions. At the highest doses of CaCl2 (2%), it increased the total ascorbic acid (AA), lycopene content, total phenolic content (TPC), and antioxidant activity (DPPH) in comparison to lower doses and control tomatoes. MT-3 responded well to higher doses of CaCl2 (2%) among the four tomato varieties and performed better in growth, yield, disease, insect infestation, quality, and shelf-life performance compared to the other varieties and CaCl2 treatment combination.

Impact of gum arabic and cactus mucilage as potential coating substances combined with calcium chloride treatment on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit quality attributes under ambient storage conditions

The current work investigates the impact of postharvest applications of calcium chloride (CaCl2) in combination with either 10% gum arabic or 50% cactus mucilage on the quality parameters and storability of tomato fruit (Izmir variety), at ambient storage conditions [21 ± 1 °C, relative humidity (RH) 45% ± 2%]. The tomato fruits were dipped in 6% CaCl2 for 10 min and then coated with either 10% gum arabic or 50% cactus mucilage for 3 min. During the time-course of storage, the fruit attributes, such as fresh fruit weight loss, fruit decay, firmness, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS), and color development were assessed. The results revealed a significant (P ≤ 0.05) effect of fruit postharvest treatment with 6% CaCl2 for 10 min combined with postharvest coating treatments with either 10% gum arabic or 50% cactus mucilage for 3 min on reducing fruit fresh weight loss, and decay percent of fruits. Fruit firmness, TA, and TSS were preserved compared with untreated fruit. In addition, treated fruits took more time to develop from pink to full red compared with untreated fruit. Hence, coating with natural substances combined with CaCl2 preserved the overall quality parameters and enhanced the shelf life of tomato fruit even after three weeks of storage at ambient temperature.