INFLUENCE OF SHORT ANOXIA TREATMENT AND MATURITYON QUALITY AND STORAGE LIFE OF TOMATOES

The influence of short anoxia treatment on physical, chemical andsensory attributes of mature green and pink red tomatoes during storage wasinvestigated. Matured green and pink red fruits were kept for 24 hrs underhumidified pure N2, while the control was not treated. Subsequently, the fruits werestored at 12°C and 20°C for 14 days. Quality parameters including weight loss,firmness, total soluble solids, colour, sensory and decay were analysed. Generally,weight loss increased after 14 days of storage and depending on anoxia treatment,maturity and storage temperature. Tomato fruit treated with anoxia and kept at12°C showed a minimal deterioration of the quality attributes and could be storedfor longer periods compared to those stored at 20°C. Results for TSS were higherin tomato fruit treated with anoxia. However, pink red fruit stored at 20°C showedlower TSS than untreated fruit. Untreated and anoxia-pretreated mature greentomatoes showed higher sourness and off-flavour scores than those stored at 20°C.However, mature green and pink red tomatoes kept at 20°C showed higheracceptance (%) than those stored at 12°C. Therefore, combined effect of anoxiaand low temperature could have delayed the ripening of the tomatoes.