Extending Storage Life And Maintaining The Quality Of Tomato Fruits By Using Postharvest Exogenous Edible Coating Of Aloe Vera Gel, Starch, And Casein

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum Mill.) is considered one of the most grown horticultural crops having a short storage life due to its climacteric nature of ripening, susceptibility to postharvest microbial decay, mechanical damage, and high rate of losses during handling operations. Therefore, the present study was conducted to investigate the effect of some postharvest exogenous edible coating treatments immersed in four different solutions of Aloe Vera Gel (10%), Starch (2%) plus Citric Acid (1%), Casein 2.5 % and control (distilled water) on reducing the decay, maintaining quality and extending storability during storage for 28 days at 8 ± 1°C and 95% RH. The obtained results revealed that the tomato dipping in a solution of Aloe Vera Gel (10 %(, Starch (2%) and Casein (2.5%) was the best treatment for reducing weight loss, decay, shriveling, also maintaining a general appearance, ascorbic acid, TSS, and increasing titratable acidity, total phenolic and the peroxidase activity compounds as compared with uncoated fruits. The tomato fruits dipping in Aloe Vera Gel (10%), and Starch (2%) were highly effective in preserving and maintaining the lycopene content and gave the lowest value of polyphenol oxidase activity at the end of storage time of tomato fruits at the end of storage time 28 days at 8 ± 1o°C and 95% RH.