Post harvest evaluation: Respiration rate and ethylene production on coated on tomato (Solanum lycopersici)
Rohasmizah Hashim1,2 Azizah Misran2* Nadhira Hanafiah3 Nur Huda Faujan3 Phebe Ding2

1Food Technology Department, Faculty of Appled Science, Universiti Teknologu MARA (UiTM), Cawangan Negeri Sembilan, Kampus Kuala Pilah, 72000, Kuala Pilah, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia.
2Deparment of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400, Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.
3Department of Food Biotechnology, Faculty of Science and Technology , Universiti Islam Malaysia (USIM),71800, Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.
*Email: azizahm[at]upm.edu.my

Abstract

The coating technique with edible ingredients is a promising alternative for preserving the quality of fresh produce, such as fruit and vegetables. This approach is environmentally friendly, reduces pesticide tolerance and is a safer option for human consumption. Postharvest evaluations of Solanum lycopersici in terms of respiration rate and ethylene production were conducted. Five treatments, including control (uncoated fruit), Prochloraz 10 ugml, pectin 1 percent weight per weight, pectin 2 percent weight per weight and pectin 3 percent weight per weight, were used as coating by submerging the tomatoes, which were standardised to maturity stage 3 (turning). The studies were conducted for 15 days. The respiration rate of coated tomatoes ranged from 60.4 mlCO2kgh to 81.67 mlCO2kgh. With the highest values of 81.67 mlCO2kgh, the control (uncoated) differed significantly from the other coating types at p less than 0.05. The lowest respiration rate was recorded by pectin 3 percent and not significantly different with pectin 2 percent and Procholoraz. Ethylene production also depicted the same trend as respiration rate with control (uncoated) at the highest values of 5.98 ul C2H4kg per hour and significantly different with other types of coating at p less than 0.05. Tomatoes coated with 3 percent pectin produced the least amount of ethylene (1.62 ulC2H4kgh), and was not significantly different from tomatoes coated with 2 percent pectin. As a conclusion, pectin at 2 percent incorporation is sufficient to lower the respiration rate and ethylene production of tomatoes. It is a useful ingredient in coating formulation with outstanding ability and robust functionality as a coating agent.

Keywords: coating-ethylene-pectin-postharvest-respiration-tomato

Topic: Food science and biotechnology