Effect of postharvest edible coatings on quality and shelf life of pear fruit cv. Punjab Beauty

Abstract Pear is a climacteric fruit, due to which it exhibits short postharvest life. Therefore, the present investigation entitled “Beeswax coating to enhance the storage life of sodium nitroprusside treated fruit of pear cv. Punjab Beauty” was conducted in the PG Department of Agriculture, Khalsa College, Amritsar during 2022. Pear fruits cv. Punjab Beauty were harvested and treated with combined coatings of sodium nitroprusside and beeswax at different formulations and stored under low temperature conditions for 60 days, while control fruits were dipped in plain water. All the treated and untreated fruits were then stored at cold storage conditions for 60 days. Both coated and uncoated fruits were analyzed for various physico-biochemical characteristics on 0th, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th, 50th and 60th day of cold storage. The results reflected that SNP @ 1 mmol + Beeswax @ 5% treatment showed a significant reduction in weight loss and spoilage loss while maintained highest firmness, TSS and titratable acidity as compared to other treatments as well as uncoated fruit. It was found that a postharvest application of SNP @ 1 mmol + Beeswax @ 5% was beneficial in delaying the ripening process and can be used to enhance the shelf life of pear fruit with acceptable fruit quality upto the 60th day of storage period.