Postharvest attributes of mango and banana as influenced by commercial chitosan and calcium chloride

ABSTRACT

Mango and banana are two popular fruits in Bangladesh that has been extensively cultivated here as well as worldwide. However, both mango and banana are highly perishable and possess very short shelf life. Two experiments were conducted at the Horticulture Laboratory of Agrotechnology Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna with different concentrations of commercial chitosan and calcium chloride (CaCl₂) to evaluate the fruit attributes and shelf life of mango and banana. The experiments were laid out in completely randomized design (CRD) with three replications and each replication consists of 10 fruits of each type. Commercial chitosan (0.5%) performed better in reducing the cumulative weight loss (17.14 %), disease severity (48.33 %) and extend the shelf life 8.92(days) of mango. However, no significant difference was found between 0.5% and 0.3% commercial chitosan. For banana experiment, 5% CaCl₂ resulted better regarding cumulative weight loss (14.85%), disease severity (50%) and shelf life 5.33 (days). Though 5% and 3% CaCl₂ showed similar effects on TA and. Therefore, 0.5% commercial chitosan for mango and 5% CaCl₂ for banana could be recommended for maintaining postharvest fruit quality and shelf life. However, more experiments are needed to be conduct for final recommendation.

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