International Journal of Horticulture, 2017, Vol.7, No.20, 163-171
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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 10kg and
20kg 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 (200m 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 (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 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 Gen Stat software
version 10.3 (VSN, 2011).
3 Results and Discussion
3.1 PLW (%)
PLW
of apple
fruits
among the tested packaging containers was highly significant during transportation and
storage. Minimum PLW (1.6%) was observed in 7 ply 180 psi CFB boxes while maximum (4.4%) in 3 ply Beer
carton (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) reported that moisture loss of a single bruised
apple may be increased by as much as 400% compared to that of an intact apple.
