Combined Effects of Pre-cooling, Application of Natural Extracts and Packaging on the Storage Quality of Apple (<i>Malus domestica</i>) cv. Royal Delicious

During recent years, global concern for protection of the environment has led researchers to investigate the use of natural flora as one of the sources for crop protection. The present investigation was also directed to find out the natural and ecofriendly fruit coating, package and storage alternatives for the extension of the storage life of apple (<em>Malus domestica</em>) cv. 'Royal Delicious'. Surface coating of apple with 1, 1.5, 2% neem oil (<em>Azadirachta indica</em>) and 10, 15, 20% extracts of marigold flower (<em>Tagetes erectus</em>), along with pre-cooling were tested on the storage quality of the fruit. The fruits were analyzed for physicochemical and physiological characters such as loss in weight, fruit firmness, total soluble solids (TSS) content, titratable acidity (TA), pH, content of reducing sugars, pectin, total anthocyanin and polygalacturonase (PG) activity. They were also analyzed for fruit spoilage. The results revealed that, surface-coating of apple with 1.5- 2% concentration of neem oil along with pre-cooling was the most effective in providing better physico-chemical umbrella, effectively lowering fruit softening and PG enzyme activity, and significantly lowering fruit spoilage during storage. Similarly, packaging of fruits with corrugated fiber board (CFB) boxes + paper mould trays, CFB + Polyethylene (PE) liners and shrink-wrapped tray packing during storage (2±1°C and 85-90% RH), showed that the surface-coating of apple with 2% neem oil together with shrink-wrapped tray packing provided better retention of storage life of fruit and the treatment effect on physico-chemical characteristics of fruits were significant. <br /><p>DOI: <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tar.v21i1.2582">http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/tar.v21i1.2582</a></p><em>Tropical Agricultural Research</em> Vol. 21(1): 10-20 (2009)