Evaluation of Post-harvest Losses and Shelf Life of Fresh Mango (Mangifera indica L.) in Eastern Zone of Tanzania

Abstract

Post-harvest loss negatively impacts food security, nutrition and economic stability of farmers, exporters, traders and consumers. Experiments were conducted to assess the effects of post-harvest techniques on the shelf life of Apple and Palmer mango cultivars under different storage conditions. Post-harvest losses of these fruit along the supply chain were also evaluated. A two-factors factorial experiment with six replications was used for each cultivar. Post-harvest techniques included dipping of fruit in hexanal solution (0.02% v/v), calcium chloride solution (2% w/v), smoke treatments and untreated fruit. The fruit were then stored at two different storage conditions namely: ambient temperature (28 ± 2°C) and cold storage (18 ± 2°C). Shelf life data was analyzed by using R-software. Mean separation was done by using Tukey Honestly Significant Difference at (p ≤ 0.05). Results showed that the major sites of post-harvest losses were at harvest, transport, wholesale and retail stages of supply chain. Furthermore, post-harvest treatments of fruit with hexanal and calcium chloride significantly increased shelf life and reduced disease incidences compared to untreated control and smoke-treated fruit. Cold storage significantly increased shelf life of mango fruit compared to ambient storage. Therefore, hexanal, calcium chloride and cold storage are recommended to extend fruit shelf life, maintain fruit firmness and to reduce disease incidences in mango fruit.