Appropriate technology of Post-Harvest Broccoli quality produced in Indonesia

Abstract

Broccoli is a highly economic crop in Indonesia, it is rich in vitamin and mineral and is a good source of vitamin A; Potassium; Folic acid; Iron and Fiber. The best grows of broccoli in area with a cool climate or high land; in West Java cultivated of broccoli were at Lembang and Pangalengan. Broccoli is cultivated for its curd, which should be dark green in color. The curd has diameter of 5-25 cm depending on soil conditions and variety. Head of broccoli must be entirely green and all flower buds must be completely closed to be desirable. Quality factors for broccoli consist of curd density, greenness, and absence of blemishes. The problem of broccoli is post-harvest handling without appropriate technology and handling is still carried out by traditional method without hardly any starting or grading prior. The quality of the product cannot be improved by post-harvest handling a lone, but is necessary for extending shelf life. Post-harvest handling covers the time span from product harvesting in the farm field until it reaches the urban consumer through the market. The two main objectives of applying appropriate technology of post-harvest of broccoli are to maintain quality and reduce losses between harvest and consumption A descriptive experiment method was done and regression analysis consisting of two variables (dependent and independent) were employed with five treatments. The results showed were all treatment gave various results depend of packaging in a sealed and temperature. Low storage temperature in broccoli more important than type of packaging in maintaining sensory characteristics of the curd and reducing weight loss as well as decay scores. LPDE bag was best cold storage of broccoli curds.