Effect of On-Farm Chemical Treatments and Packaging on Quality of Litchi During Long Distance Transportation

Abstract

An investigation was conducted to determine the optimal combination of packaging and chemical treatments to minimize postharvest losses where commercially mature fruits of the litchi variety “Shahi” were harvested from the orchard of the National Research Center for Litchi, Bihar and sequentially treated with various chemical combinations before packing in corrugated fiberboard (CFB) boxes or conventional wooden boxes. The packed fruits were transported by train from Bihar to IARI, New Delhi, within 24 h. Results showed that CFB boxes were significantly more effective in minimizing losses and retaining key nutritional parameters, including anthocyanin, reducing sugars, total sugars, and titratable acidity. Among the treatments, fruits treated with sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl, 0.2%) combined with potassium metabisulfite (KMS, 0.5%) showed the highest retention of anthocyanin (38.9 mg/100 g), TSS (24.2°Brix), phenolic content (318.4 μg GAE/g FW), and titratable acidity (0.7%). This treatment also resulted in the lowest physiological loss in weight (PLW, 2.86%), browning index (1.0), and no spoilage. These findings offer a practical solution for reducing spoilage and maintaining the nutritional quality of litchi fruits during transportation.