Effect of Packaging on Postharvest Quality Changes of Longkong

Longkong has a short shelf life (3 to 5 days) at ambient temperature due to its pericarp browning and biochemical quality loss. The present study investigated the quality changes of longkong fruit during storage under passive modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) at ambient temperature (25 oC and at 85 % relative humidity). Fruit stored without MAP served as a control. The accumulation of headspace gas (% CO 2 ) in the fruit package was observed less than 65 % during all over the storage. The increase of fruit weight loss was effectively controlled in passive MAP storage than the control. Passive MAP storage maintained the lowest browning index values as compared to the control during storage. Throughout the storage, pericarp phenylanine ammonia lyase, polyphenol oxidase and peroxidase had higher activities in the control fruits. The significant changes in fruit pH, titratable acidity (TA), total soluble solids (TSS) and TSS/TA content were observed in both the control and passive MAP during the storage. Fruits stored under passive MAP had more scavenging ability than reducing power during storage. However, due to lower surface mould growth, the passive MAP stored longkong had a quality and shelf life of up to 12 days at ambient temperature. doi: 10.14456/WJST.2015.17