Effect of foliar spray of boron and zinc on fruit quality of papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Red Lady in Chitwan, Nepal

A field experiment was carried out at commercial papaya farm, Chanauli, Chitwan, from January 2016 to December 2016 to find out the effect of foliar spray of boron and zinc on quality of papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Red Lady. The experiment consisted of eleven treatments viz., T1-Control (No spray), T2-Water Spray, T3-Borax at 0.1 % and ZnSO4 at 0.1 %, T4-Borax at 0.1 % and ZnSO4 at 0.2 %, T5-Borax at 0.1 % and ZnSO4 at 0.3 %, T6-Borax at 0.2 % and ZnSO4 at 0.1 %, T7-Borax at 0.2 % and ZnSO4 at 0.2 %, T8-Borax at 0.2 % and ZnSO4 at 0.3 %, T9-Borax at 0.3 % and ZnSO4 at 0.1 %, T10-Borax at 0.3 % and ZnSO4 at 0.2 % and T11-Borax at 0.3 % and ZnSO4 at 0.3 %. Post-harvest analysis of the harvested fruits was done at post-harvest laboratory of Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan.Significantly the highest values were observed for the quality parameters like ascorbic acid content (4.67 mg/100 g pulp), TSS (11.68 °Brix), PH of fruit juice (5.53), TSS/TA ratio (101.63) and fruit firmness (2.73 Kg/cm2) with the application of borax at 0.3 % and ZnSO4 at 0.2 %. Similarly significantly the lowest values for titratable acidity (0.115 %) and physiological loss in weight at 3 days (1.60 %), 5 days (2.00 %), 7 days (3.05 %) and 9 days (4.75 %) after storage at room temperature were found in the same treatment.