Effect of chitosan coating on postharvest life and quality of plum during storage at low temperature

The effect of chitosan coating on the storage life and quality of 'Santa Rosa' plum was investigated. The plum fruits were treated with 2% chitosan coating and stored at 1 +/- 1 degrees C under 90 +/- 5% RH. During storage, observations on weight loss, fruit firmness, colour, rates of respiration and ethylene evolution, biochemical and quality attributes were recorded at weekly interval. Our experiment yielded that chitosan had a significant effect in maintaining fruit firmness (similar to 78%), retarding weight loss (similar to 52%), respiration and ethylene evolution rates and delaying the colour change as compared to non-coated fruits. Furthermore, at the end of 35 days of storage at low temperature, a significant reduction in pectin methylesterase activity (similar to 44%) and malondialdehyde production (similar to 21%) was observed. Similarly, anthocyanin content (similar to 24%) was significantly retarded in chitosan-coated 'Santa Rosa' plums. Thus, postharvest application of chitosan as an edible coating can effectively maintain the quality and extend the storage life of plum up to 35 days under low temperature storage condition.