Extending the shelf life of eggplant fruits with different postharvest treatments
Celso Luiz Moreetti, Leonora M. Mattos, Joesse M.A. Teixeira, Waldir A. Marouelli and Washington L.C. Silva.
Program Supplement, XXVI International Horticultural Congress, August 11 to 17, 2002, Toronto, Canada. Abstract S15-P-8A. pp. 25.
2002
บทคัดย่อ
Extending the shelf life of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) fruits is a great challenge for Brazilian growers planning to export their product to other countries in the MERCOSUL.The present work was carried out to investigate different postharvest treatments to extend the shelf life of eggplant fruit.Eggplant fruit, cultivar CiAa, wee harvested in the optimum maturity stage at commercial fields in Brasilia, DF, Brazil.After harvest, fruit with no external blemishes were graded for size (20+-2 cm) and diameter (8+-0.5cm) and hydrocooled with chlorinated with chlorinated water (100 mg.kg-1 NaCIO ; 10 0C).Fruit were then treated with calcium chloride (2%) , 1 – methylcyclopropene (500 mg.kg-1 ), modified atmosphere (coextrused polyolephin), and control.Fruit were stored for 10 day under refrigerated conditions (12+-0.5 0C/ RH 90-95%) and every two days were analyzed for total soluble solids, weight loss, firmness, and color (L*a*b*).Fruit increased their weight loss during the experiment.Eggplant fruit stored under modified atmosphere conditions, with or without application of calcium chloride, lost around 3% of their initial weight.Firmness was reduced in all treatments during the storage period.At the tenth day, fruits treated with calcium chloride + modified atmosphere storage were 2.5 times firmer than control fruits. “L” value for fruits stored under modified atmosphere were significantly higher than other treatments.Soluble solids content was not statistically affected by the different postharvest tretaments.It is suggested that eggplant fruit stored under refrigerated conditions, wrapped in plastic films (coextrused polyolephin), and treated with calcium chloride (2%) can be successfully exported from Brazil to any other country in MERCOSUL.