EVALUATION OF PERFORMANCE OF DIFFERENT EDIBLE COATING TREATMENTS ON POST-HARVEST QUALITY OF GUAVA FRUIT DURING AMBIENT STORAGE

The effectiveness of different coating treatments at different concentrations had been investigated in the present work against guava fruits. The present experiment includes 40 combinations of coating materials viz. Aloe Vera gel [1/3(25%), 1/2(33%) and 1/1(50%)], Corn starch (0.5, 1, and 1.5 %), Calcium chloride (0.5, 1, and 1.5 %), Chitosan (0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 %) for increasing the shelf-life of guava at ambient conditions. The effect of coating material on physiological loss in weight, vitamin C, acidity, soluble solids, and SS/acid ratio was observed. The different treatments showed variation in physiological and biochemical variables. Coated fruits delayed the increase in weight loss, soluble solids content and retained greater titratable acidity, vitamin C contents than control. Out of these 40 treatments, treatment T1 [Aloe vera 1/3(25%)], T2 [Aloe vera 1/2(33%)], T10 (chitosan 0.1%), T11 (chitosan 0.2%), T12 (chitosan 0.3%), showed the best result as compared to other treatments.