B.L. Attri, Hare Krishna, B. Das, N. Ahmed and Akhilesh Kumar
Central Institute of Temperate Horticulture, Regional Station, Mukteshwar - 263 138, Uttarakhand, India.
Abstract: For extending the shelf life, a study was carried out on the effect of bio-regulators
viz., salicylic acid and Ca-EDTA on three apple varieties
viz., Fanny, Golden Delicious and Vance Delicious. The selected fruits were dipped for 30 minutes in aqueous solution of salicylic acid @ 200 ppm, Ca-EDTA @ 0.4% ppm and control (distilled water dip). The treated fruits were stored in CFB boxes at ambient temperature (18-20
oC) for 60 days. During storage, the effect of bio-regulators on various physico-chemical characteristics such as TSS, acidity, ascorbic acid, sugars and antioxidants of apple fruits were studied at 10 days interval. The results revealed that the fruits treated with bio-regulators had significantly better retention of firmness and low PLW (12.10, 12.80 and 13.69%) as compared to control (20.26, 18.75 and 19.35%) during storage for 60 days. The TSS, acidity, ascorbic acid, sugars and antioxidant contents in the treated fruits were stable, whereas in untreated ones the conversion rate was faster. During storage, salicylic acid and Ca-EDTA slowed down respiration rate resulting better shelf life of apple. The treated fruits of Golden Delicious had a shelf life of 60 days as compared to 40 days in control. The study revealed that the shelf life of the apple fruits could be increased with better physico-chemical characteristics using bio-regulators like salicylic acid and Ca-EDTA.
