Active Packaging for Improving the Shelf Life and Quality of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.)
C. Shahida *
College of Horticulture and Farming System Research, Assam Agricultural University, Nalbari, India.
D. Swarup
College of Horticulture and Farming System Research, Assam Agricultural University, Nalbari, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) is a popular berry of the world but it is highly perishable in nature and possesses an extremely short shelf life. Active packaging in plastic punnets of size 17cm x 11 cm x 3.5 cm of 100 gm capacity with the treatment of Ethylene absorber + moisture absorber + Clo2 (5ppm) increased the shelf life by 7 days as compared to control 3 days. Physiological Loss in weight 4.4%) and decay incidence was also reduced 36% as compared to control showing PLW 9% and decay incidence of 65%. The mean value after storage of quality parameters such as TSS (10.8 0 Brix), Titratable acidity (0.8%), Anthocyanin (61.2 mg/100gm) and Ascorbic acid (65.16mg/100g) content was observed which performed better with the organic treatment as compared to the treated fruits.
Keywords: Active, packaging, strawberry, ethylene absorber, shelf life