Effect of Harvesting Stages and Calcium Chloride Application on Postharvest Quality of Tomato Fruits

Abstract

Tomatoes are a good source of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes, which are beneficial to human health. They are one of the most commercially high-value vegetable crops that experience a huge postharvest loss after harvest. The present experiment is conducted to investigate the effect of different maturity stages (mature green, breaker, and half-ripe stage), pre- and post-harvest treatment with different concentrations (0.0%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0%, w/v) of calcium chloride (CaCl2) on the postharvest performance, antioxidant and enzymatic activity of lowland tomato fruits, stored at ambient temperature (28 ± 2 °C and 75 ± 5% RH). Tomato fruit of mature green stage treated with 2% CaCl2 significantly (p = 0.05) declined the ethylene production (15.53%), weight loss (16.43%), and delayed color development by slowly synthesizes the lycopene content as well as extended the shelf life. The maximum amount of total phenolic content (TPC) was demonstrated at the highest level of CaCl2 (2%) after 20 days of storage life at ambient conditions. The concentration of CaCl2 influenced the activity of different plant defense enzymes, and the higher doses of CaCl2 (2%) accelerated the activity of peroxidase (POD) (13%), polyphenol oxidase (POP) (7.3%), and phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) (8.5%) relative to that of the control samples. Therefore, the tomato producers and traders could extend the storage duration of tomato fruits by harvesting at the mature green stage and applying 2% CaCl2 in both pre-and postharvest at ambient storage conditions.

Effect of chemical pretreatment on quality attributes of the cashew apple

“…Similar results were reported by Dao, Nguyen, Tran, Pham et al. (2021), where a 38% and 55% reduction in TPC and tannin content of cashew apples, respectively, was observed after NaCl‐based‐blanching. Zhou et al.…”

“…Mazumder et al. (2021) studied the effect of CaCl 2 treatment on the preharvest to postharvest maturity stage of tomatoes. They reported that CaCl 2 decreased ethylene production and retained maximum phenolic content after 20 days of storage.…”

“…Further numerical optimization was done to determine the optimum conditions for maximum inhibition of enzyme activity with better color retention, minimum usage of chemical concentration, and lesser dipping time. Equation (3) calculated desirability ( D ), where the desirability index ( di ) is used, which was calculated by Equation (4), depending on maximizing and minimizing the target response (Dao, Nguyen, Tran, Le, et al., 2021). Further, optimum conditions were verified by performing experiments with obtained processing conditions, and then physiochemical characteristics of the fruit were tested for validation.…”

“…Galli et al (2016) studied the effect of NaCl treatment on strawberries and observed 2% and 14% increase in TPC content at 40 and 80 mM treatment, respectively. Mazumder et al (2021) studied the effect of CaCl 2 treatment on the preharvest to postharvest maturity stage of tomatoes. They reported that CaCl 2 decreased ethylene production and retained maximum phenolic content after 20 days of storage.…”

Exogenous Postharvest Application of Calcium Chloride and Salicylic Acid to Maintain the Quality of Broccoli Florets

“…Moreover, the application of calcium chloride after harvest delays the progress of ripening, reduces decay, and increases the calcium level in treated fruits, resulting in higher nutritional value in treated fruits [ 21 , 22 ]. Reducing respiration, ripening development, and senescence were the effects observed in some fruits and vegetables from CaCl 2 application after harvest [ 23 , 24 ]. Moreover, Aghdam et al [ 25 ] found that antioxidant capacity, anthocyanin, ascorbic acid, and phenolic compounds were conserved in cornelian cherry fruits by the postharvest application of CaCl 2 .…”