The Effects of Post-Harvest Waxing on Shelf Life of Satsuma Mandarin Types

Shelf life research is being conducted with the aim of maintenance of fruit quality from harvest to the consumer's table. Some postharvest applications on mandarin fruits are shown to be drastically effective on storage. During this research, post-harvest waxing has been applied on different satsuma mandarin types (SAE 3, SAE4, SAE13) and the effect on shelf life has been investigated. The control group has been left untreated during the trials. Satsuma mandarin types have been kept for 10 days under 20 degrees C +/- 1 and at 55-60% relative humidity and calculations and pomological analysis have been conducted. During the shelf life period (10 days), % weight loss and some pomological criteria such as titratable acid amount, fruit juice amount, total soluble solid amount, total soluble solids/titratable acidity ratio, change in rind thickness have been examined. In three different 'Satsuma' mandarin types, weight loss in waxed fruits have been observed to be less than that in fruits left unwaxed during shelf life trials.