Influence of bagging materials on maturity indices and post-harvest quality of 'roma vf' and 'tinker' cherry tomatoes

Thesis (M.Sc. (Horticulture)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of pre-harvest bagging materials on maturity indices and post-harvest quality of cherry tomatoes. At pre-harvest, fruit were bagged with blue and transparent plastic bags of 0.075- and 0.025-mm thickness, respectively. The non-bagged fruit were considered as control treatment. The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with three replications. Physical quality parameters such as; colour changes (L*, a*, b*, C*, h˚, and ΔE), firmness, weight loss and size were assessed. Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, total soluble solids, and total titratable acidity were also evaluated. Bagging had a significant effect on the quality of both cherry tomato cultivars. The results showed that bagging cherry tomatoes at 1.5 cm diameter with blue and transparent plastic bags accelerated maturity. Moreover, bagging with transparent plastic bags enhanced exocarp colour, reduced weight loss, retained larger size, increased pH and TTA, with an increase in TSS when compared with blue plastic bags and control, respectively at 12 days of shelf-life. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate that pre-harvest bagging has the potential to improve maturity indices and post-harvest quality of cherry tomatoes. Therefore, pre-harvest bagging can be used as an alternative method to enhance cherry tomato fruit quality and shelf-life.

NRF