ศูนย์นวัตกรรมเทคโนโลยีหลังการเก็บเกี่ยว

Storage life of vegetables in simple evaporative coolers.

Acedo, A. L., Jr.

Tropical Science Year: 1997 Vol: 37 Issue: 3 Pages: 169-175 Ref: 6 ref.

1997

บทคัดย่อ

Mature-green fruits of tomato (cv. Improved Pope) and sweet pepper (Capsicum cv. Grossum) and 25-day-old crowns of pechay (Brassica chinensis cv. Black Behi) were stored in box-type evaporative coolers (EC) for an average of 26-27, 23-26 and 5-6, days respectively, about twice as long as in ambient storage. The two EC structures used, one with jute sack walling and the other with a rice hull wall insert, were equally effective. They maintained temperatures 1-6 deg C lower and relative humidities 10-20% higher than ambient. These conditions inhibited fruit-shrivelling or leaf-wilting and markedly reduced weight loss. Disease incidence was comparable in the 2 ECs for tomatoes, affecting 80-85% of the fruits, whereas for Capsicum more fruits in EC-2 than in EC-1 were disease infected. Disease infection was mainly caused by the soft rot pathogen Erwinia carotovora pv. carotovora. Fruit ripening was also retarded, particularly in sweet peppers, most of which did not turn ripe-red at ambient. The stor

age life of tomatoes and sweet peppers in the ECs was comparable to that in refrigeration, but the latter led to severe chilling damage.