Enhanced shelf life of Thompson Seedless grapes by application of chitosan

Abstract

Shelf life of fruits has important role in attracting consumers. Longer shelf life in grapes results in better returns from the market and gives a chance to make available fruits in distant market also with retaining freshness in the supply chain. Edible coating of berries acts as barriers during processing, handling and storage, retarding deterioration in appearance as well as nutritional values and enhances physical, biochemical and sensory properties. Considering importance of chitosan and its application in fruits and vegetables, present study was carried out. A commercial product contained 10% of chitosan was applied as 2 g/L (T1), 4 g/L (T2) and control (T3), 7 days before harvesting of Thompson Seedless grapes. The stored grapes at 0±2°C with 93±25 humidity for 15 days (A1) and 30 days (A2) were placed on ambient conditions for a period of 5 days to study the effect on post-harvest quality. Significant differences were noted in TSS content of berries among the levels of chitosan application in comparison to control, initially. The storage duration couldn't affect TSS and acidity significantly. In case of PLW, fallen and rotten berries, minimum values were recorded in T2 and almost same trend was observed in A1. Interaction data of levels of chitosan with storage of grapes at low temperature for 15 days and 30 days before placing them for study showed significant differences. T2A2 noted lower PLW (8.83%) on 5th day of storage and it was very closely followed by T2A1 (10.48%). However, T2A1 recorded with minimum fallen and rotten berries during the study. On the basis of present study, it may concluded that application of chitosan contained product (10%) @4 g/L before 7 days of grape harvesting and placing these grapes for 15 days at 0°C found better to improve keeping quality