The effect of temperature and packaging on the storage of dasheen (Colocasia esculenta) leaves
1995
Sankat, C.K. (West Indies Univ., St. Augustine Trinidad, West Indies (Trinidad and Tobago). Agricultural Engineering Programme Faculty of Engineering) | Lauckner, B.
The effects of refrigerated storage and polyethylene packaging on the post-harvest shelf-life and quality of dasheen leaves were examined. The leaves are usually cooked like spinach. In the traditional marketing system, bundles of leaves wilt rapidly and show a weight loss of 59 percent after 8 days with the leaf's moisture content falling from 85 percent to 22 percent (wet basis). Unpackaged leaves rapidly transpired and wilted with average daily weight losses of 2.7 percent, 3.5 percent, 4.4 percent, and 7.3 percent at 3 degree, 10 degree, 17 degree and 28 degree Celsius respectively. Such leaves, initially deep green in colour became brown-yellow after 8 days, exhibiting severe losses in chlorophyll and ascorbic acid. Packaging reduced weight losses to less than 15 percent and kept the moisture content high, averaging 86 percent for the 24 days in storage. Chlorophyll and ascorbic acid losses were also restricted for packaged leaves. At 3 degree C, and first noticable after 12 days, a browning discoloration of packaged leaves was symptomatic of chilling injury. After 2 weeks at 10 degree Celsius, the quality of packaged leaves was satisfactory and salability was maintained
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by Universiti Putra Malaysia