Vol. 11, Special Issue 9 (2022)

Author(s):
Milind Nankar, Amit Kotiyal and Akshay Parab

Abstract:
The pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is a non-climacteric fruit of punicaceae family. The possibility of storage in ambient conditions is limited, leading to overproduction in the market and reduced profits for producers. In addition, under ambient conditions, overripe fruits result in a lot of waste and economic loss. Pomegranate fruit rots as a result of improper treatment, lowering growers' profits. Physiological and biochemical changes occur after harvest, leading in significant quality loss and deterioration throughout post-harvest handling and storage. Packaging and storage are intimately connected, shelf life of fruit is directly depending on storage and packaging materials. The cultivar of pomegranate Bhagawa was packed in different packaging materials (LDPE, HDPE, LDPE + KMnO4, HDPE + KMnO4) and kept in ambient and cold storage conditions. The fruits were examined for Physiological loss in weight (%), total soluble solid (%) and titratable acidity (%) at 5 days interval up to 20 days of storage. The treatments which extended the shelf life and reduced the post-harvest losses without adversely affecting the fruit quality of pomegranate. These treatments are found obviously easy for practical application for extending the shelf life of pomegranate.