Effect of post-harvest calcium chloride dip treatment and gamma irradiation on storage quality and shelf-life extension of Red delicious apple.

Freshly harvested Red delicious apples were dipped in calcium chloride solution of varying concentrations (0.5-2.0% w/v) for 1 h prior to irradiation at dose level of 0.4 kGy. Fruits after radiation treatment were stored at 2 ± 1°C, RH 90% and evaluated at intervals of 30 days for various quality parameters. Results revealed significant (p ≤ 0.05) retention in firmness, juice yield and ascorbic acid content in samples treated with combination of calcium chloride at 2.0% w/v and gamma irradiation (0.4 kGy) during storage. Water soluble pectin was inversely correlated with firmness (r = 0.88) and was significantly (p ≤ 0.05) lower in samples subjected to combination treatment of 2.0% w/v CaCl2 and 0.4 kGy irradiation throughout the storage. The combination treatment of 2.0% CaCl2 and 0.4 kGy irradiation gave about 4.3 log reduction in yeast and mold count of apple samples. Results of the post refrigeration weight loss, firmness and overall acceptability revealed that combination treatment was helpful in extending the shelf-life of Red Delicious apples by around 20-25 days at 17 ± 2°C, RH 75% following 90 days of refrigeration.