Storage life improvement of custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) fruits cv Balanagar by postharvest application of antioxidants

Abstract: The effect of postharvest application of various concentrations of antioxidants [500, 1000 ppm of sodium benzoate (SB) and ascorbic acid (AA) and 50, 100 ppm of benzyl adenine (BA)] on storage life of custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) fruits of cv ?Balanagar?, stored at 15?1?C, was studied at Fruit Research Station, Sangareddy, A.P., India. Various physico-chemical parameters like physiological loss in weight (PLW), firmness, spoilage, ripening, days taken for ripening, storage life, total soluble solids (TSS) and ascorbic acid were estimated at an interval of 2 days during storage. Fruits treated with BA (100 ppm) recorded the lower PLW than untreated fruits. The highest firmness was recorded in fruits treated with BA (100 ppm), whereas maximum days taken for ripening was recorded with BA (50 and 100 ppm) and SB 500 ppm. Fruits treated with BA (100 ppm) or SB (500 ppm) or AA (1000 ppm) recorded lower spoilage and correspondingly increased the storage life up to 11, 10.5 and 10 days, respectively, whereas, untreated fruits recorded a storage life of 8.5 days only. The lowest TSS and the highest ascorbic acid were recorded with fruits treated with BA (100 ppm), whereas untreated fruits recorded highest TSS and the lowest ascorbic acid. From the present investigation, it can be concluded that postharvest application of BA (100 or 50 ppm) increases the storage life of custard apple by 29.41 per cent (2.5 days) over untreated fruits.