Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science
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Pertanika · Universiti Putra Malaysia Press

Pertanika Journal of Tropical Agricultural Science

Official journal of Universiti Putra Malaysia for peer-reviewed research across tropical agriculture and allied agricultural sciences.

e-ISSN 2231-8542 ISSN 1511-3701
Research article

Postharvest Quality of Carica papaya var. Eksotika after Foliar Feeding Treatment

Phebe Ding and Meljev Singh Sidhu

KeywordsFoliar feeding, postharvest quality, neem oil, colour, soluble solids concentration
Article content

Abstract

A field study was conducted to determine the effects of foliar feeding using of two Frumone® formulations on postharvest quality of Eksotika papaya. The treatments consisted of water (control), Frumone® and Frumone®+neem oil (2 mL.L-1 water) applied by foliar spraying to one-year-old plants at 30-d intervals for 4 months. Green with trace of yellow fruits at ripening stage (RS) 2, were harvested and then ripened using calcium carbide (10 g.kg-1 fruit) at 27°C for 24 h. Fruit quality at RS 2, 4 and 6 were evaluated. In comparison to the control treatment, the two formulations of Frumone® treatments did not affect peel colour, pulp firmness, soluble solids concentration (SSC), vitamin C content and titratable acidity of Eksotika papaya fruit. However, the pH of the fruit was significantly affected by the treatments. Fruit peel colour, flesh firmness, SSC, vitamin C content, pH and titratable acidity were significantly affected by RS. There were significant interaction effects of foliar feeding x RS on C* values, flesh firmness, SSC and pH. As fruits ripened, ho values correlated positively with pulp firmness and negatively with SSC. This indicated that during fruit ripening, the change in fruit peel colour, from green to yellow, was followed by fruit softening and increase in sweetness. In conclusion, foliar feeding using Frumone® and Frumone®+neem oil did not affect postharvest quality of Eksotika papaya fruit.