Effect of edible coatings for enhancing shelf-life and quality in Ber (Zizyphus mauritiana Lamk.) fruits

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of post-harvest application of different edible coatings like Chitosan (0.5%, 1.0%, 2.0%), Guar gum (1%, 1.5%, 2%), Gum tragacanth (1.0%, 1.5%, 2.0%) on shelf life and quality of cv. BAU ber. Fruits of uniform size were harvested at physiological maturity and treated with various edible coatings. Observations were recorded at intervals of 4 days from storage on physiological loss in weight, fruit length, breadth, colour, TSS, total sugar, reducing sugar,acidity, and ascorbic acid. The results revealed that coating of fruits resulted in reduced loss in fruit weight and higher level of ascorbic acid content, TSS, acidity, total sugar, reducing sugar as compared to the fruits under control. The most effective coating was Guar gum (2%) that extended the shelf life of ber up to 16 days. Fruits under control had a shelf life of only10 days.