Efficacy of Various Packaging Materials on the Postharvest Life of Hydroponically Grown Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill)
Efficacy of Various Packaging Materials on the Postharvest Life of Hydroponically Grown Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum, Mill)
Arshad Iqbal1, Shahid Javed Butt1, Zia Ul Haq2*, Ismara Naseem3, Qaisar Ali Khan4 and Muhammad Sajid1
ABSTRACT
Hydroponics is an innovative off-season vegetable/fruit production technique, especially for water-scarce, urban environments, and uneven weather conditions. Such types of weather conditions decrease the shelf-life of hydroponically grown fruit. Almost 30-40% postharvest losses were recorded for fruits and vegetables. This economic loss imposes growers for the adoption of suitable packing materials. The utility of packaging material enhances the shelf-life of fruit, while the selection of packing material depends on its availability, affordability, and performance. To examine the effects of various packing materials on the postharvest life of hydroponically grown tomatoes and to access the best packing materials used to maintain postharvest quality. An experiment was conducted at the Institute of Hydroponic Agriculture, PMAS Arid University Rawalpindi during the year 2018-19. Three types of packing materials were selected during this study, cardboard boxes, polyethylene bags, and wooden crates. Experimental results show that tomato’s pH, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar, total sugar, and number of decay fruits from day 0 to day 16 were continuously increased while average fruit weight, firmness, total soluble solid, titratable acidity (TA) ascorbic acid from day 0 to day 16 were decreased in all the experimental units. It was concluded from the study that the treatment T3 containing cardboard boxes showed the best results in increasing the self-life of tomatoes.
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