International Journal of Horticulture, 2017, Vol.7, No.20, 163-171
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present 99.0% of the apple fruits in the market are imported from China and India. To replace import, Nepal has
to develop its own packaging and transportation mechanism.
Apple growers of Nepal have not been receiving anticipated level of income because of higher postharvest loss
due to inappropriate traditional postharvest handling practices. Large amount of fruit losses occurs after harvest
and minimizing this loss could save over 25% of produce (Gurung, 1998). Gautam et al. (2004) reported that
58.2% apple fruits damage during harvesting, handling, transportation and distribution due to inadequate
postharvest handling technology.
All the apple production areas located in higher hills, from where usually the fruits are harvested and transported
to collection centers on conical bamboo baskets by the porters and thereafter to distance market in different CFB
boxes and gunny sacks. Fruits bruise easily due to scratch, compression, impact and vibration forces during
transportation also lead to damages. The damages may not be apparent and visible to naked eyes immediately
after transport; however become visible after storage. Moreover scratches and wounds created during transport
are the avenue for the entry of microorganism for the development of disease and rotting. Thus, damaged fruits
have short storage life as compared to undamaged healthy fruits (Subedi et al., 2016; Subedi et al., 2017).
In Nepal, present packaging system for apple fruit is unsuitable and unscientific. The use of traditional forms of
packages like bamboo baskets; reused Beer cartons, noodle cartons, Chinese apple cartons and gunny sacks are
still prevalent which are not convenient containers for packaging, handling, transporting and marketing of fresh
apple for distant market. Rough surface and sharp edge of bamboo baskets cause bruising and scaring;
inconvenience in handling and stacking during transportation.
Among different packaging containers, CFB boxes are capable of withstanding various shipping and
transportation hazards (impact, compression and vibration damages), attractive, light weight; provide cushioning
and good stacking strength and excellent cushioning for product protection, offers better retention of shelf life,
quality of product and better printability which helps in efficient marketing (Salunkhe et al., 1995). One of the
important functions of CFB boxes is to provide crush resistance/product protection and adequate strength for
stacking in warehouses. The use of CFB boxes is being made to limited extent in Nepal. Some traders and
cooperatives have initialed to use CFB boxes for packaging and transportation of apple to long distance market;
however packaging containers and packaging methods have not been standardized yet.
Apple growers, cooperatives and traders still use 3 ply Beer cartons and 7 ply CFB boxes of 20 kg capacity
recommended by Fruit Development Directorate (FDD) to pack and transport apples. At present, nearest cold
storage is located in
Kohalpur, Banke, Nepal
which is far from the production site. Fruits are usually stored in
cold storage by traders and released periodically for marketing. Postharvest brushing damage on Standard
cultivars of apple fruits is a serious problem for the growers. To overcome this problem, research has been
undertaken to identify appropriate packaging materials for transportation of Royal Delicious apple fruits from the
production center to the distant market and thereafter on storage in a prime form and fresh condition so that
bruising process can be managed or controlled more effectively.
2 Material and Methods
Studies were carried out for two consecutive years (2013-2014) to identify appropriate packaging material for
transportation of Royal Delicious apple from HRS,
Rajikot, Jumla, Nepal
to
Kohalpur, Banke, Nepal
. Fruits were
harvested at commercial maturity stage from HRS,
Rajikot, Jumla
(2390m a.s.l., 29
°
17’N, 82
°
13’E) and
transported to
Kohalpur
,
Banke, Nepal
in different types of CFB boxes. 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. Six different types of 10 kg capacity CFB boxes
(300mm x 250mm x 295mm) 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.
