International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences | 2021
Study on the Effect of Post Harvest Treatments on Shelf Life of Custard Apple (Annona squamosa L.) Variety Arka Sahan during Storage
Abstract
Custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) is one of the finest fruits introduced in India from Tropical America. The undomesticated form of this fruit can be found in many part of India. It is also known as various names like Sugar Apple, sitaphal, sweet sop and sharifa. Fruit ripening nature of custard apple is climacteric i.e. sharp rise in respiration after harvest. Custard apple is very high perishable fruit crop with very short life of storage (Wills et al., 2001). The edible portion or pulp is a creamy and granular with a good blend of sweetness. It contains protein (1.6 g), fat (0.50.6 g), carbohydrate (23.5 g), crude fiber (0.96.6 g), calcium (17.6 g), phosphorus (47 mg), iron (1.5 g), thiamine (0.075-0.119 mg), riboflavin (0.0860.175 mg), ascorbic acid (15.0-44.4 mg) and nicotinic acid (0.5 mg) per 100g of edible portion (Mahadevbhai and Patel, 2018). Cold storage is not promising. Moreover if fruit is allowed to remain on the tree for prolonged period, the pericarp splits to open facilitating deterioration. Because of custard apple is highly perishable, the fruits could not be send to distant markets. Commercialization of custard apple (Annona squamosa, L) is the biggest hinder for the custard apple growers due to its highly perishable nature. On an average, the postharvest shelf life of this fruit is only three International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 10 Number 01 (2021) Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com