Effect of irradiation on shelf life and microbiological quality of mangoes (Mangifera indica L.).
Prasadini P. P., Khan M. A. A., Reddy P. G.
Author Affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad - 500 030, India.
Journal of Research ANGRAU 36 : 14-23
Abstract : An experiment on improving the quality of mango variety Baneshan was conducted at Department of Environmental Science and Technology, College of Agriculture, ANGRAU, Hyderabad in 2006. Three treatments namely irradiation at 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75 kGy on the day of harvest and unirradiated control were tested in ten replications following completely randomized design. The result showed that the irradiation of mango fruits at 0.25 kGy improved several quality parameters. It reduced physiological loss in weight and kept the fruit without shriveling or development of spots with a firm skin and deterred the microbial load by two log cycles in the mango pulp from 7 to 15 days and three log cycles in fruit stalk base from 5 to 15 days. However, it increased citric acid while decreasing the total and reducing sugars during the period of study (17 days) compared to control. The reverse trend in increase in titratable acidity and reduction in total as well as reducing sugars in comparison to control is an important consideration for increasing the storage life of the fruits without deterioration.