Influence of edible coatings and storage duration on post-harvest performance of plum

Regulation of loss in fruit weight is mainly occurred due to metabolic activities, respiration and transpiration. Postharvest quality and extending shelf life of horticultural crops is mainly concerned with maturity indices and edible coating materials which are significantly good and safe for health. Therefore, an experiment was performed to know the influence of various coating materials and storage duration on plum cv. Fazl-i-manani at Postharvest Horticulture laboratory, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar-Pakistan. Castor oil coated plum fruits sustained the maximum titratable acidity (%), ascorbic acid content (mg.100g-1), juice content (%), color, taste and aroma score, with the lowest total soluble solids (0Brix), pH and weight loss (%). On the contrary, the highest titratable acidity (%), ascorbic acid content (mg.100g-1), firmness (Kg.cm-2), juice content (%), minimum weight loss (%), total soluble solids (0Brix), decay (%) and pH were recorded in storage at 0 day. The maximum weight loss (%), total soluble solid (0Brix), decay incidence (%) and pH, with least titratable acidity (%), ascorbic acid content (mg.100g-1), juice content (%), color, aroma and taste were witnessed in those fruits which were stored for 28 days. In conclusion, it is proposed that plum fruits should be coated with castor oil for sustaining its quality aspects for extended time.