International Journal of Horticulture, 2017, Vol.7, No.13, 106-114
108
boxes (300 mm x 250 mm x 295 mm) having different plies with different bursting strength were manufactured at
Sahara packaging private limited,
Jorpati, Kathmandu, Nepal
. They were; 5 ply CFB boxes with 140 psi, 160 psi,
180 psi bursting strength, 7 ply CFB boxes with 140 psi, 160 psi, 180 psi bursting strength. To compare with
conventional and other methods, two existing 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. Four holes of 20mm
diameter were made on both sides of the CFB boxes at 5.5mm and 18.5mm 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 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 (Juyun 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 (
0
brix) was recorded with hand refractometer (Erma, Japan) calibrated at 20°C.
Titratable acidity was determined by titrating a 5 ml juice with 0.1N 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 10g of iodine crystals and 25g 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).
Experiment was designed as 8 treatments randomized completely with 3 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 Gen Stat 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 (4.6%) was observed in 3 ply Beer cartons followed by 7 ply FFD CFB boxes (3.0%)
while minimum (2.1%) in 7 ply 180 psi CFB boxes (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; Subedi et al., 2017). Mohammed et al. (2016)
