PRESERVING QUALITY OF LOQUAT FRUIT DURING STORAGE BY MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) is a highly perishable, non climacteric fruit and requires very careful handling. To extend the shelf life of loquat, the effectiveness of different packages including high density polyethylene (HDPE) with 0.09 mm thickness, low density polyethylene (LDPE) with 0.03 mm thickness, 0.25% perforated high density polyethylene (HDPEP) and 0.25% perforated low density polyethylene (LDPEP) were studied. Loquat fruit of ‘Surkh’ cultivar was picked at mature stage. Fruits were washed, sorted, packed in different polyethylene packages, and stored at 4°C in a cold store. Changes in weight loss, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), vitamin C content and browning index (BI) as affected by different treatments were studied. LDPEP retained significantly the highest firmness (1.21 kgf) and the lowest TA (0.32%). The lowest values for weight loss (0.17%), TSS (10.5%) and firmness (1.00 kgf) were exhibited by HDPE. Browning index was the minimum in LDPE. Control had significantly highest values for TSS (13.4%), BI (22.06%) and weight loss (2.43%).