Optimization of Hot Water and Pulsed Electric Field Treatment for Extending Shelf Life of Guava (Psidium guajava L. cv. Allahabad Safeda) during Cold Storage

Optimization of Hot Water and Pulsed Electric Field Treatment for Extending Shelf Life of Guava (Psidium guajava L. cv. Allahabad Safeda) during Cold Storage | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Optimization of Hot Water and Pulsed Electric Field Treatment for Extending Shelf Life of Guava (Psidium guajava L. cv. Allahabad Safeda) during Cold Storage Madasamy Raja G, Selvaraju P, Gnanavel B.K, Anuradha P This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7950868/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigated the combined effects of hot water treatment (HWT) and pulsed electric field (PEF) on the postharvest quality and shelf life extension of guava ( Psidium guajava L. cv. Allahabad Safeda ) during 28 days of cold storage at 5 ± 3°C. Fruits were subjected to HWT at varying temperatures (30–60°C for 3min) followed by PEF treatments (1–3 kV/cm, 10–100 µs pulse duration). Key physicochemical parameters including cumulative physiological loss in weight (CPLW), electrolyte leakage (EL), firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA) were monitored weekly. Results demonstrated that combined treatment at 45°C with moderate PEF intensity significantly reduced CPLW by 27% (from 15.6% to 8.66%), preserved firmness (retaining 67% of initial firmness versus 44% in control), and stabilized TSS and TA levels compared to untreated controls. Decay development was reduced by 65% at day 28. The treatment maintained better membrane integrity, as evidenced by 14% lower electrolyte leakage compared to controls. Additionally, correlation analysis was performed to assess relationships between treatment parameters and quality outcomes. Strong correlations (R² = 0.78–0.95) were observed between treatment conditions and key quality indicators, providing insights for optimizing postharvest handling protocols. This non-chemical preservation approach demonstrates significant potential for extending the commercial shelf life of guava, particularly for the Indian fruit export industry, where Allahabad Safeda is a major cultivar. Biological sciences/Biotechnology Biological sciences/Plant sciences Postharvest quality Pulsed electric field Heat treatment Shelf life extension Cold storage Guava preservation Non-thermal processing Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7950868","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":593639906,"identity":"237cf83a-dd58-4db8-869f-524bd8b28a37","order_by":0,"name":"Madasamy Raja G","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Paavai Engineering College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Madasamy","middleName":"Raja","lastName":"G","suffix":""},{"id":593639907,"identity":"5ccc6eaf-27d9-4cb8-be36-c08eb926bcd1","order_by":1,"name":"Selvaraju P","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jerusalem College of Engineering","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Selvaraju","middleName":"","lastName":"P","suffix":""},{"id":593639908,"identity":"c470f6be-a64e-4582-85d9-134e52bc412f","order_by":2,"name":"Gnanavel B.K","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA7ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBCDBH4wyQAlE4jRItkAVmxAghaDA2DagIGgevno5mcPfrbZ5BmfP/t0w4M/fxj42XMMGB7uwK3F8M4xc8PetrRisxvpZjcS2wwYJHveGDAknsGjZUaCmQTPmcOJ226wsd1IbDBgMLgBtCWxDZ+W9G+Sf878T9zcf4ztRsIfAwZ7QlrkJXLMpHkqDiRuYEgDamED2iJBQAtQQZm0TEVyscQNoJbENmMeiTPPCg7gtWVG+jbJNwZ2efxAh9388UdOjr89eePDn/hsOYAmwAMi0AVRbWnAJzsKRsEoGAWjAAQAoGhTNBgxXf0AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"SRM Institute of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Gnanavel","middleName":"","lastName":"B.K","suffix":""},{"id":593639909,"identity":"e5623e4b-3758-4b7d-8cb9-c7fd4071d36d","order_by":3,"name":"Anuradha P","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Easwari Engineering College","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Anuradha","middleName":"","lastName":"P","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-10-27 11:12:11","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7950868/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7950868/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106006947,"identity":"e8b5c12b-ccdc-41a9-8e31-7a4652a058fe","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-02 10:57:41","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":919848,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7950868/v1_covered_9c1ea67c-199b-406e-a9c1-4bee601d2c28.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Optimization of Hot Water and Pulsed Electric Field Treatment for Extending Shelf Life of Guava (Psidium guajava L. cv. Allahabad Safeda) during Cold Storage","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Postharvest quality, Pulsed electric field, Heat treatment, Shelf life extension, Cold storage, Guava preservation, Non-thermal processing","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7950868/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7950868/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigated the combined effects of hot water treatment (HWT) and pulsed electric field (PEF) on the postharvest quality and shelf life extension of guava (\u003cem\u003ePsidium guajava L. cv. Allahabad Safeda\u003c/em\u003e) during 28 days of cold storage at 5\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;3\u0026deg;C. Fruits were subjected to HWT at varying temperatures (30\u0026ndash;60\u0026deg;C for 3min) followed by PEF treatments (1\u0026ndash;3 kV/cm, 10\u0026ndash;100 \u0026micro;s pulse duration). Key physicochemical parameters including cumulative physiological loss in weight (CPLW), electrolyte leakage (EL), firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA) were monitored weekly. Results demonstrated that combined treatment at 45\u0026deg;C with moderate PEF intensity significantly reduced CPLW by 27% (from 15.6% to 8.66%), preserved firmness (retaining 67% of initial firmness versus 44% in control), and stabilized TSS and TA levels compared to untreated controls. Decay development was reduced by 65% at day 28. The treatment maintained better membrane integrity, as evidenced by 14% lower electrolyte leakage compared to controls. Additionally, correlation analysis was performed to assess relationships between treatment parameters and quality outcomes. Strong correlations (R\u0026sup2; = 0.78\u0026ndash;0.95) were observed between treatment conditions and key quality indicators, providing insights for optimizing postharvest handling protocols. This non-chemical preservation approach demonstrates significant potential for extending the commercial shelf life of guava, particularly for the Indian fruit export industry, where Allahabad Safeda is a major cultivar.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Optimization of Hot Water and Pulsed Electric Field Treatment for Extending Shelf Life of Guava (Psidium guajava L. cv. Allahabad Safeda) during Cold Storage","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-02-20 19:23:40","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7950868/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"6582e118-19a6-4d57-b6b3-41f99390e9b8","owner":[],"postedDate":"February 20th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":63169471,"name":"Biological sciences/Biotechnology"},{"id":63169472,"name":"Biological sciences/Plant sciences"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-02T10:56:54+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-02-20 19:23:40","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-7950868","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-7950868","identity":"rs-7950868","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}