Mango is a commercial but highly perishable fruit, and therefore, a longer shelf life is necessary for its successful marketing and consumer satisfaction. This study aims at evaluating the effects of edible coating, based on pectin, on the quality and shelf‐life extension of mangoes. The coating formulations included different combinations of pectin, beeswax, sorbitol and monoglyceride. The fruits were coated and stored at room temperature along with uncoated controls. Samples tested were evaluated periodically for quality parameters, which included visual observation, weight loss, respiration rate, color, firmness, pH, soluble solids (SS), titrable acidity and extent of decay. The coated‐fruits reduced the rate of color development, texture softening, weight loss, CO2 evolution and acid production (only pH and SS increased) compared with the control. The shelf life of control sample was less than a week, whereas the coated fruits remained good for over 2 weeks, thereby offering a significant advantage. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The study evaluates the use of pectin‐based edible coating for extending the shelf life of mango. The formulation is a blend of hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups to provide controlled respiration and water vapor permeability. The properties of pectin films have been highlighted in a previous paper, and several applications based on the coating have been demonstrated. The present study demonstrates that modifications to the formulation were necessary in order to successfully apply it to mango. Mango is a popular commercial product with high heritability. Simple edible coatings that can help to improve the shelf life and marketability of the product will be of significant interest in the marketing of mango products.

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Edible coating is a simple and inexpensive concept for extending post-harvest life of fruits and vegetables. In this study, cucumbers were coated with different pectin-based emulsions to preserve the fruit quality and extend the post harvest shelf life. The formulations consisted of pectin, beeswax, sorbitol, water, and an emulsifying agent. By monitoring the physiological and quality parameters, the coating effects on the storability of cucumber fruits at 23°C and 40% RH (display cabinet), and 12°C and 85% RH (cold room) were determined. The parameters included weight loss, respiration rate, firmness, color, soluble solids and chlorophyll content. The coating markedly reduced weight loss and respiration rate at both temperatures. In addition, the coating reduced loss of firmness, color, chlorophyll and total soluble solids, and extended the storage life of cucumber fruits at both storage conditions.

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The volatile metabolites from the headspace gas of containerised mango ( Mangifera indica ) cv. Tommy Atkins fruits, surface wounded and inoculated with the two fungal anamorphic pathogens Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Lasiodiplodia theobromae , or non-inoculated (controls), were profiled using a portable gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer to discriminate diseases of mango. Thirty-four compounds were detected relatively consistently among replicates. Several of these were disease/inoculation-discriminatory and were classified into three groups: (i) compounds unique to only one treatment; (ii) compounds common to two or more treatments, but not to all; and (iii) compounds common to all treatments, but varying in their abundance. Two compounds, 1-pentanol and ethyl boronate, were detected in L. theobromae-inoculated mangoes alone, while thujol was observed only in C. gloeosporioides-inoculated mangoes. Discriminant analysis models based on the abundance of significant mass ions and consistent compounds correctly classified diseases/inoculations in up to 100% of cases. The disease-discriminatory compounds and discriminant analysis models developed here have the potential to be used in the early detection of postharvest diseases of mango fruits after validation under commercial conditions.