Does the Quality of Valencia Orange Vary in Response to Different Coatings during Cold Storage?

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Department of Pomology, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Egypt

Abstract

DUE to the importance of the process of fruit waxing in Valencia orange especially for exportation, the current study aimed to evaluate the effect of bee wax, gum arabic, paraffin oil and chitosan in different concentrations as coating materials on the quality of Valencia orange fruits during cold storage at 5◦C and 90-95% relative humidity for 90 days. Chitosan at 1 or 2% and paraffin at 99% showed the lowest significant decay percentages. Moreover, chitosan at 2% showed the lowest rates of weight loss and pectin methylesterase activity, also it maintaining fruit colour brightness and hardness of fruits compared with uncoated ones. In addition to, the different applied films affected significantly respiration rate and ascorbic acid content compared with untreated ones.

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