Influence of Storage Conditions on Ripening Behavior and Physico-Chemical Properties of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) Fruits

Abstract

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a nutritious tropical fruit, consumed both in its fresh form and as a processed product world-wide. It was an important fruit in Ethiopia as it was a good source of vitamins, dietary fiber and minerals and provides flavor, aroma and texture to the pleasure of eating. The main objective of the study was to investigate the influence of ambient temperature and cool chamber (PZECC) storage conditions on ripening behavior and physico-chemical properties of packaged papaya fruits in plastic and wooden crates. The data obtained were statistically analyzed for Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) by using Complete Randomized Design (CRD). Aand mean separation was performed by using detect least significance difference (LSD) at the p 0.05 level. Results reveal that, TSS, weight loss and shelf-life significantly increased with every increments of storage period at both storage condition and packaging materials. However, mean value of firmness was significantly decreased as storage duration increased. It could be concluded that some physico-chemical properties were significantly increased with the advancement of storage time. Moreover, when post-harvest handling activity done properly the quality of papaya fruit was increased and the farmer incomes for local market and export market increased.