International Journal of Horticulture, 2017, Vol.7, No.20, 163-171
163
Research Article Open Access
Evaluation of Packaging Materials for Transportation of Royal Delicious Apple
Subedi G.D.
1
, Giri R.K.
2
1 Horticulture Research Division, Khumaltar, Lalitpur, Nepal
2 Horticulture Research Station, Rajikot, Jumla, Nepal
Corresponding email
International Journal of Horticulture, 2017, Vol.7, No.20 doi
Received: 01 Jun., 2017
Accepted: 15 Jun., 2017
Published: 05 Aug., 2017
Copyright
©2017 Subedi and Giri, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article
:
Subedi G.D., and Giri R.K., 2017, Evaluation of packaging materials for transportation of royal delicious apple, International Journal of Horticulture, 7(20):
163-171 (doi
Abstract
Studies were carried out for two consecutive years (2013-2014) to identify appropriate packaging materials for
transportation of Royal Delicious cultivar of apple. Fruits harvested on 3rd week of September were packed in different types of
corrugated fiber board (CFB) boxes and transported from HRS,
Rajikot, Jumla, Nepal
(2390m a.s.l., 29
°
17’ N, 82
°
13’ E) to
Kohalpur,
Banke, Nepal
(215 km mountainous gravel road, 48 hours) by truck. The treatments were 10 kg capacity 5 ply and 7 ply CFB boxes
having 140 psi, 160 psi and 180 psi bursting strength. To compare with conventional and government recommended practices, the
fruits were also packed in 3 ply Beer cartons (conventional practice) and 7 ply 20kg capacity CFB boxes (Government
recommendation). The experiment was designed as eight treatments randomized completely with three replications. After
transportation, fruits were stored as such condition in cold store at 5±1°C and 95% RH for one month. After storage, observations
were made on physiological loss in weight (PLW), damage fruits, fruit quality and economic analysis. There was more than 40%
reduction in PLW in all packaging treatments as compared to conventional one (4.4%). Similarly, highest postharvest loss (22.4%)
was in conventional practice which was reduced to 6.6 to 16.9% in other treatments. Among the treatments, 7 ply 180 psi bursting
strength CFB box was the best to retain fruit quality. Besides reduction in postharvest loss and better quality fruits, higher gross
return, higher benefit cost ratio was received from the improved technology. The use of 7 ply 180 psi CFB boxes has an additional
benefit of NRs. 78750 (US $ 757) per truckload load (5000 kg fruits). Higher cost of CFB boxes could be an important obstacle in
adoption of improved technology; hence provision should be made from the government to subsidize for packaging materials to
encourage adoption of improved technology.
Keywords
Brushing; CFB boxes; Hedonic rating; Potential added benefit; Starch index; Spoilage
1 Introduction
Apple (
Malus domestica
Borkh.) is an economically important fruit
in family Rosaceae. Apple fruits have
colorful appearance, crispy flesh, pleasant flavor and sweet taste. It has been originated i
where its
wild ancestor
is still found today (Hancock et al., 2008). Apples have been grown for thousands
of years in Asia and Europe; were brought to Indian sub-continent by European colonists. There are more than 7
500 cultivars and it is one of the most grown fruit in the temperate zones of all over the world (Martinelli et al.,
2008). Apples have
and
significance in
Christian traditions and European
cultures. The proverb “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” addresses the health benefit of fruit. Consumption
of apple has shown better health to prevent a variety of chronic diseases and lung cancer, asthma, diabetes and
ischemic heart disease which is mainly due to large content of structural cell walls and polysaccharides along
with the various phyto-chemical antioxidants (Device
et al., 2010). Red delicious, Royal Delicious and Golden
Delicious cultivars are leading the deciduous fruit grown successfully in high hill areas from east to far west of
Nepal. Royal Delicious is a widely adapted commercial cultivar of apple used as a pollinizer in apple orchards. In
Nepal, apple can be grown in 54 districts; however, only 12 districts grow apple commercially of which Jumla
district ranked the number one in terms of area and production (Subedi et al., 2012). Climate is very much
suitable for the production of apple. Efforts have been made to increase production in high hills and mountains.
However, because of transportation problems, the produced fruits do not reach to the market in normal condition.
Postharvest losses due to inappropriate packaging are very high. Despite of great potentiality for production, at
