Enhancing the shelf life of fully ripe guava and mango fruits using wax emulsions.
Rajkumar P., Viswanathan R., Kailappan R., Thirupathi V., Narayanan L.
Author Affiliation: Dept. of Food and Agril. Process Engg., Agril. Engg. College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore - 641 003, India.
AMA, Agricultural Mechanization in Asia, Africa and Latin America 38 : 55-60
Abstract : Shelf life of fully matured guava and mango fruits was assessed by coating with wax emulsions. Four levels of wax emulsions viz., 3%, 4%, 5% and 6% were prepared by adding oleic acid, triethanolamine and hot water. A hand operated wax coating machine was developed to coat wax on fruits. Physiological loss in weight (PLW) and organoleptic properties of wax coated fruits and unwaxed fruits (control) were measured periodically during the storage period. It was observed that the PLW was lower in wax coated samples than the control. Based on the results of the organoleptic properties, it was also found that the shelf life of 6% wax emulsion coated guava and mango fruits could be extended up to 7 and 12 days against 4 and 7 days only for the untreated guava and mango.