Effects of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizer Application on the Postharvest Quality of Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) Var. EVIARC Sweet

Abstract

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) is one of the most significant trees in tropical home gardens and important genus Artocarpus. The study was conducted to determine the effects of inorganic and organic fertilizer application on the physicochemical and sensory acceptability of jackfruit and identify which nutrient management scheme would give the best postharvest quality. Each replication had four sample trees per treatment. The treatments were designated as follows: T0 – control (no fertilizer application), T1 – inorganic fertilizer (0.830 kg complete fertilizer/tree + 3.329 kg solophos phosphate/tree + 0.726 kg KCl/tree), and T2 – vermicast (75 kg/tree). Analysis of variance and treatment comparison by the least significant difference were performed using the Statistical Tool for Agriculture Research (STAR). Application of organic and inorganic fertilizer significantly influenced the pulp width and circumference and core width of jackfruit. T1 gave bigger pulp circumference (11.38 cm), longest pulp length (7.13 cm) and highest number of pulp per fruit (138.75). The color a (redness/blueness) and b (yellowness) values, pH, total soluble solids (TSS), percent titratable acidity (%TA), vitamin C and juice yield were significantly affected by the application of organic and inorganic fertilizer. The b* values indicate the yellowness of the fresh-cut jackfruit pulp. It was observed that T1 and T2 had noticeably lower +b* than those without fertilizer application as indicated by the lower intensity of yellow color. Sensorial analyses of color, aroma, sweetness, firmness, flavor, and juiciness were not significantly influenced by fertilizer application. The two nutrient management schemes revealed comparable general acceptability of jackfruit.