Effect of postharvest treatments on shelf-life and quality of litchi

Abstract

Effect of postharvest treatments on shelf-life and quality of litchi cvs. ‘Bombai’ and ‘Madraji’ were studied. Fruits of both the cultivars were stored in polyethylene bags, bamboo baskets with litchi leaf lining and open conditions at 5 °C and under ambient temperature for 9 days. In all the cases, fruits stored in open conditions lost weight rapidly and became unmarketable within 3 days due to rapid pericarp browning. In contrast, fruits kept in polyethylene bag had reduced weight loss and retained pericarp colour greatly during storage. Decay symptom was observed when the fruits were stored in ambient temperature either in polyethylene bags or in bamboo baskets with litchi leaf lining. However, no decay symptom was found in fruits kept at 5 °C irrespective of storage treatments. The changes in TSS, ascorbic acid and total phenolics in the aril were minimum in the treatment of polyethylene bags than that of bamboo baskets with litchi leaf lining and open conditions. Overall, fruits of both cultivars showed similar storage behavior and maintained better quality at 5 °C than ambient temperature.