International Journal of Horticulture, 2017, Vol.7, No. 8, 54-63
56
practices were also included as treatments; these were 7 ply CFB box of 20 kg capacity recommended by FDD
and 3 ply Beer carton as local practice (two plies of cardboard papers and one ply of fluted paper glutted
alternately). Four holes of 20 mm diameter were made on both sides of the CFB boxes at 5.5 mm and 18.5 mm
height for exchange of gases. Uniform sized 64 and 140 apple fruits were arranged in 4 layers separated by five
deck plates in 10 kg and 20 kg capacity CFB boxes respectively. CFB boxes were sealed with carton tape first,
then diagonally sealed by carton sealing and strapping machine (Golden Eagle); transported to truck (200 m
walking distance) by porters on their head. CFB boxes were loaded randomly; stacked in 4 layers inside the truck
after spreading of HDPE tarpaulin at the base; shipped by truck to
Kohalpur
,
Banke
,
Nepal
(215 km mountainous
gravel road, 48 hours) and then stored for one month in cold storage at 5±1°C and 95% RH. Since the effect of
packing material is not prominent immediately after transportation, the fruits were stored for one month for
observation.
After one month storage, consumer’s acceptability (Lim, 2011) was recorded by a panel of 10 judges on the basis
of hedonic rating (9-like extremely; 8-like very much; 7-like moderately; 6-like slightly; 5-neither like nor dislike;
4-dislike slightly; 3-dislike moderately; 2-dislike very much; 1-dislike extremely). Firmness of fruit was measured
with hand penetrometer (FT-327, Italy) having plunger diameter of 11mm. Total soluble solids (°brix)
was
recorded with hand refractometer (Erma, Japan) calibrated at 20°C. Titratable acidity was determined by titration
5 ml juice with 0.1 N sodium hydroxide using phenolphthalein as an indicator (AOAC, 1990). Starch iodine test
was performed to determine the conversion pattern of starch into sugars (M. S. Reid et al., 1982). Iodine solution
was prepared by dissolving 10 g of iodine crystals and 25 g of potassium iodide in 1 liter of distilled water.
Fruits (n=10) were cut at right angles to the core, approximately halfway from stem to calyx end; Iodine solution
was applied to cut surface, drained away any excess and rated fruit staining after two minutes by using 0-6 scales
[0-all tissue zones stained (all starch); 1-clearing within the core flesh, particularly between adjacent seed carpel;
2-clearing has extended to the core line and started to extend into the regions between core line vascular bundles;
3-clearing has continued between the core line vascular bundles, while tissue surrounding the core line vascular
bundles and in the outer cortex remain stained; 4-clearing has continued into the outer cortex, but not to the skin.
Most core line vascular bundles and associated tissue which remain stained are surrounded by unstained cortical
tissue; 5-clearing has extended to within a few mm of the skin and unstained zones around the core line vascular
bundle, where they exist, started to contract; 6-no staining (no starch)].
The experiment was designed as eight treatments randomized completely with three replications, each replication
comprising of 64 and 140 fruits according to capacity of CFB box. Observations were recorded for PLW, damage
incurred due to bruising and spoilage during transportation and subsequent storage. Spoilage was considered for
unacceptable fruit loss while some fruits which were damaged partially were accepted at 50% lower price, an
equivalent loss were calculated. Economic analysis of best and existing packing methods were calculated
assuming 50% lower price of damaged fruits in the market. Physicochemical studies on quality parameters were
performed at RARS,
Khajura
,
Banke
,
Nepal
. Data were pooled and analyzed statistically using GenStat software
version 10.3 (VSN, 2011).
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 Physiological Loss in Weight (%)
PLW
of apple
fruits
among the tested packaging containers was highly significant during transportation and
storage. Maximum PLW (3.8%) was observed in 3 ply Beer cartons followed by 7 ply FFD CFB boxes (1.9%)
while minimum (1.5%) in other treatments (Table 1). Maximum PLW in 3 ply Beer carton might be due to
inadequate strength which increased damage to carton surface resulted more water loss due to higher
evapo-transpiration and respiration (Gautam and Bhattarai, 2012). Mohammed et al. (2016) reported that moisture
loss of a single bruised apple may be increased by as much as 400% compared to that of an intact apple.
3.2 Total Damage, Spoilage Loss, Acceptable Damage, Equivalent Loss and Total Postharvest Loss
Total number of damaged fruits among the tested CFB cartons due to bruising, scaring and spoilage during
transportation and storage was highly significant (Table 1; Table 2). Minimum number of total damaged fruits
