Title: Effect of biopreservatives and packaging on shelf life and quality of tomato

Authors: Sanchita Roy; Md Nazrul Islam; Md Jamal Hossain; Shormin Choudhury

Addresses: Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh ' Department of Agricultural Extension, Ministry of Education, Narsingdi, Bangladesh ' Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract: Tomatoes are a perishable fruit with a short shelf life, and storage conditions have an effect on consistency and nutritional value. The present study was conducted to determine the effective bio-preservative to extend the shelf life and quality of tomato cv. Roma VF. Several biopreservatives were used, including a control, aloe vera extract (100%), garlic extract (10%), neem leaf extract (40%), and propolis (10 g), as well as two postharvest packaging systems, non-packaging and perforated polyethylene packaging. The results revealed that biopreservatives coated tomatoes showed better shelf life and quality relative to uncoated fruits. Among the biopreservatives, propolis coated fruits showed the highest values in titratable acidity, total soluble solid (4.03 °Brix), ascorbic acid content (13.82 mg/100 g), beta carotene (0.225 mg/100 g) and lycopene (10.11 mg/100 g), and increased shelf life (15 days) of tomato in polyethylene bags under ambient condition. However, the lowest lycopene content (4.39 mg/100 g), beta carotene (0.05 mg/100 g), ascorbic acid content (11.07 mg/100g) and minimum shelf life (5.33 days) was found in controlled fruits with no packaging conditions. Thus, it may be concluded that propolis treatment with perforated polybag could be used to extend tomato shelf life and quality retention.

Keywords: biopreservatives; packaging; quality; shelf life; tomato.

DOI: 10.1504/IJPTI.2023.136329

International Journal of Postharvest Technology and Innovation, 2023 Vol.9 No.1, pp.20 - 34

Received: 25 Dec 2022
Accepted: 16 Jul 2023
Published online: 30 Jan 2024 *

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