Enhancement of the fruit quality and postharvest life expectancy of mango fruit (Mangifera indica L.) applying ecofriendly bio-coatings

The higher losses of fruits and vegetables during post-harvest handling are a serious matter for any country whose economy is based on agriculture. The products of this plant are a significant source of horticultural produce storage used for the control of different post-harvest losses, which include diseases as well as microorganisms. Bio-coatings may be used as a better alternative to the synthetic chemicals. The impact of edible coating on the quality and storage life of mango (cv. 'Anwar Rataul') fruit was investigated by harvesting the fruits at a firm green stage of physiological maturity and coating them with corn oil, peanut oil, sunflower oil, soya bean oil, and animal fat. The uncoated and coated fruits were stored at 25 degrees C and the relative humidity (RH) was 75%. The fruits were analyzed for physicochemical quality attributes during storage at 0 (harvest time), 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 days. The data showed that most of the parameters were affected significantly by the materials of coating and storage intervals (P <= 0.05). The fruits coated with animal fat had significantly superior fruit color, taste, aroma, firmness, total sugar content, and acidity of fruit juice, total soluble solids, and ascorbic acid content, as well as delayed ripening. Animal fat-coated fruits retained titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content (mg.100g-1) and fruit firmness (kg.cm-2) with minimal disease incidence, and weight loss (%), whereas uncoated fruits did not retain all quality attributes and deteriorated after 20 days of storage. In conclusion, mango fruits could be coated with animal fat and stored for up to 25 days without deterioration in quality.