Abstract:
The combined effect of polymeric coating and antifungal treatment on the shrinkage characteristics of pineapple fruits during postharvest storage were evaluated. A 2×2×10 factorial experiment was performed with polymeric coating (0 and 5%) antifungal treatment (0 and 0.1%) and storage time (0-10 days) as the factors. The shrinkage evolution, shell colour break and crown withering index were evaluated using standard analytical methods. Regression models were developed to predict the valuables and their effect on shrinkage indices. The results showed that the polymeric coating, antifungal treatment, and storage time significantly (p <0.05) influenced shrinkage evolution, shell colour break and crown withering index of the fruits and very high regression coefficients (87.2-99.3%) were noted among the indices. The 5% polymeric coating with fungicide at 0.01% significantly arrested the shrinkage evolution, shell colour break and crown withering index under both low (4oC and ambient (20oC) storage. Shrinkage characteristics of pineapple fruits can therefore be effectively minimized by 5% polymeric coating and 0.01% anti-fungal treatment during postharvest storage.