Peer review

Open Access

Background and Objective: Mango fruits being climacteric have a short shelf life and coating is considered as one of the most popular techniques to prolong its shelf life. This study was carried out to compare chitosan with different other coating materials in order to extend shelf life and to maintain quality of mango. Materials and Methods: The experiment was laid out in RCBD and comprised eight treatments viz., control, fruit coating with 2% chitosan, paraffin wax, almond oil, olive oil, sesame oil, coconut oil and mustard oil. Results: Some of the attributes such as; total weight loss, total soluble solids, moisture content, disease incidence and disease severity increased, while dry matter content, titratable acidity and vitamin C content decreased with the increase in duration of storage. In case of weight loss, the highest rate was observed in control, while lowest was in paraffin coating. The highest total soluble solids (14.67%) was noticed in fruits coated with 2% chitosan and the lowest (12.67%) was in olive oil coating and mustard oil coating at the 8th day of storage. Highest moisture content was recorded in almond, sesame and coconut oil coated fruits and lowest moisture content (83.67%) was observed in fruits coated with 2% chitosan. No treatment fruits were more susceptible to postharvest diseases. Shelf life varied with paraffin coating had the longest shelf life (12 days). Conclusion: Almond oil and paraffin coating gave the best result in reduction of disease, reduction of weight loss and firmness respectively, which resulted, prolonged shelf life of mango.

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