Author(s): Aaruba Maqbool, Mushtaq A Beigh, Quraazah A Amin, Towseef A Wani, Shahnaz Parveen and Shazia Akhter

Abstract: Ethylene a vital plant hormone that is essential to numerous physiological processes in plants. Ethylene initiates and modulates many ripening related processes. Following harvest, fruits and vegetables often continue to produce ethylene at varying levels based on factors such as their physiological type (climacteric vs. non-climacteric), developmental stage, and species. Consequently, ethylene gas accumulates in post-harvest micro and macro-environments, including within different types of packaging like wooden boxes, corrugated fiber boxes (CFB), and shrink-wrap packaging. Hence, ethylene management is essential to enhance the shelf life of fresh fruit through a conjunctive approach like by manipulating physiology by suppressing ethylene production and action, and by physical or chemical scavenging of ethylene from the postharvest environments. Among different strategies to manage ethylene, application of 1-Methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) followed by KMnO₄ has emerged as a useful commercial tool. This investigation was undertaken to study the effect of different packaging materials using 1-MCP and KMnO_4. For this evaluation, freshly harvested Golden Delicious apples were packed in different packaging materials (Wooden boxes, Corrugated Fiber boxes and Shrink-wrapped boxes) and were subjected to various treatments which included T₁ (Control), T₂ (1-MCP), T₃ (KMnO₄) and were stored under ambient conditions (18±5 °C, 60%) for 160 days to assess the quality attributes (Starch iodine rating (1-6 point scale), Total sugars (%), Ascorbic acid (mg/100 g), Pectin (%), carotenoid (mg/100 g). and skin colour) during storage at 20 days of interval. However, the outcome of the study suggested that the combination of 1-MCP treatment along with shrink-wrap packaging retained the maximum quality attributes, followed by KMnO₄ treatment with shrink-wrap packaging which underscores the importance of packaging material selection and ethylene management strategies in preserving the quality and extending the shelf life of fresh produce.

DOI: 10.33545/26174693.2024.v8.i6h.1390