Articles
RECENT DEVELOPMENT IN POSTHARVEST PHYSIOLOGY AND STORAGE OF GUAVA
Article number
959_10
Pages
89 – 95
Language
English
Abstract
Guava exceeds the majority of tropical and sub-tropical fruit trees in adaptability, productivity and tolerance to various climatic conditions.
Owing to high nutraceutical values of guava, there has been a growing consumer preference, resulting in expansion of area in many countries.
The fruit of guava has characteristic taste and aroma.
The harvest maturity of guava is determined based on peel colour, days from fruit set, firmness and total soluble solids/acidity ratio.
The fruit is classified as climacteric and the physiology of fruit growth, development and compositional changes including development of aroma volatiles has been studied by many researchers.
The different storage techniques and postharvest treatments to increase shelf-life have been studied and recommendations are available for different cultivars.
The currently available technology (low-temperature storage, modified atmosphere packaging) can keep the fruit firm about 2-3 weeks, which is considered adequate for domestic marketing.
However, for export to distant markets, the existing technology will need to be upgraded to improve the shelf-life.
Further research is needed to standardize the atmosphere for control atmosphere storage and use of 1-MCP for longer shelf-life.
In addition, effective measures to control postharvest disease also need to be developed further.
Owing to high nutraceutical values of guava, there has been a growing consumer preference, resulting in expansion of area in many countries.
The fruit of guava has characteristic taste and aroma.
The harvest maturity of guava is determined based on peel colour, days from fruit set, firmness and total soluble solids/acidity ratio.
The fruit is classified as climacteric and the physiology of fruit growth, development and compositional changes including development of aroma volatiles has been studied by many researchers.
The different storage techniques and postharvest treatments to increase shelf-life have been studied and recommendations are available for different cultivars.
The currently available technology (low-temperature storage, modified atmosphere packaging) can keep the fruit firm about 2-3 weeks, which is considered adequate for domestic marketing.
However, for export to distant markets, the existing technology will need to be upgraded to improve the shelf-life.
Further research is needed to standardize the atmosphere for control atmosphere storage and use of 1-MCP for longer shelf-life.
In addition, effective measures to control postharvest disease also need to be developed further.
Authors
S.K. Mitra, H.L. Devi, I. Chakraborty, P.K. Pathak
Keywords
Psidium gujava L., harvest maturity, physiology, storage
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