MSc

An experiment was conducted at the Department of Processing Technology,
College of Horticulture, Vellanikkara, during 1996-97 to evolve a simple and cheap
storage technique for tomatoes under ambient conditions.
Results revealed that some of the existing packaging and storage
techniques viz., storage under 2% ventilation + ethylene absorbent and individual
wrapping with cling films under ambient conditions, were effective in storing the
fruits for about three weeks. But the cost involved in these methods were
comparatively high. An alternative low cost storage technique was evolved using
equilibrated saw dust as the packing medium.
Two varieties of tomatoes, viz. Sakthi and PKM-1 were stored under saw
dust having a moisture content of 35-40% with a proportion of 1 :0.5 (tomato: saw
dust). A shelf-Iife of more than 25 days was obtained for both the varieties with
least deteriorative changes and with the same sensory qualities as that of plant
ripened tomatoes.
Optimum stage of harvest for storage under ESD was breaker stage which
possessed all the quality attributes like TSS, acidity and well developed colour at
the end of the storage. Organoleptic quality of stored breaker stage fruits was on
par with fresh plant ripe fruits. The cost involved in this method is negligible, with
zero energy requirement and without any complicated technology.