Abstract:
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most widely cultivated and extensively
consumed horticultural crops. It is one of the very perishable produces and it changes
continuously after harvesting. So, the choice of packaging material is crucial for
prolonging the shelf life and preserving the quality of the tomatoes. This study aimed
to assess how different packaging materials affect the shelf life and quality of tomatoes
stored in refrigeration at 20 °C. Tomatoes at the turning stage were packed in low
density polythene bag (LDPE), paper bag, and plastic container, with three replicates
per treatment, and stored in a refrigerator along with a control (unpacked). In each
treatment, there were 08 tomatoes for three replicates and a total of 96 tomatoes were
used in this experiment. Physiological weight loss (PWL), overall acceptability score,
total soluble solids (TSS), pH, titratable acidity (TA), and vitamin C were measured at
one-week intervals, for 04 weeks. One-way ANOVA was performed for each parameter
in order to identify the statistical significance among the packaging materials. Results
revealed that packaging materials had a significant effect on PWL, pH, and TA.
Tomatoes packaged in paper bag experienced the highest PWL (6.83±0.77 %), lowest
overall acceptability score, shortened shelf life, highest pH (3.65±0.13), highest TSS
(4.44 Brix %), rapid rate of increase in TA and lowest vitamin C content (30.67±0.92
mg/100ml) compared to other packaging materials. In contrast tomatoes in LDPE bag
showed the lowest PWL (2.04±0.43 %), highest overall acceptability score, longer shelf
life, lowest pH (3.49±0.05), lowest TSS (4.27±0.12 Brix %), and the highest vitamin C
content (31.41±0.67 mg/100 ml) at the end of storage period. A slower increase in TA
was noted for tomatoes in plastic containers with similar increase in TA across all
packaging types by the end of the storage. Overall, there was a significant less variation
in physiological weight loss, pH, TA, and vitamin C content between tomatoes
packaged in LDPE bags and those in plastic containers. Therefore, it can be concluded
that using LDPE bags for packaging tomatoes leads to a longer postharvest shelf life
and improved phytochemical quality when stored at 20 °C. These findings demonstrate
the importance of selecting appropriate packaging materials for the efficient storage of
tomatoes, thus contributing to reduced postharvest losses and enhanced fruit quality.
