Thesis (M.Sc. (Horticulture)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of pre-harvest bagging materials
on maturity indices and post-harvest quality of cherry tomatoes. At pre-harvest, fruit
were bagged with blue and transparent plastic bags of 0.075- and 0.025-mm
thickness, respectively. The non-bagged fruit were considered as control treatment.
The experiment was carried out in a randomized complete block design arranged in
a 2 × 3 factorial arrangement with three replications. Physical quality parameters
such as; colour changes (L*, a*, b*, C*, h˚, and ΔE), firmness, weight loss and size
were assessed. Physico-chemical parameters such as pH, total soluble solids, and
total titratable acidity were also evaluated. Bagging had a significant effect on the
quality of both cherry tomato cultivars. The results showed that bagging cherry
tomatoes at 1.5 cm diameter with blue and transparent plastic bags accelerated
maturity. Moreover, bagging with transparent plastic bags enhanced exocarp colour,
reduced weight loss, retained larger size, increased pH and TTA, with an increase in
TSS when compared with blue plastic bags and control, respectively at 12 days of
shelf-life. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate that pre-harvest bagging has the
potential to improve maturity indices and post-harvest quality of cherry tomatoes.
Therefore, pre-harvest bagging can be used as an alternative method to enhance
cherry tomato fruit quality and shelf-life. / NRF
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:ul/oai:ulspace.ul.ac.za:10386/3964 |
| Date | January 2022 |
| Creators | Mafotja, Mokgadi Pollet |
| Contributors | Buthelezi, N. M. D., Mafeo, T. P., Mathaba, N. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | xii, 53 leaves |
| Relation |
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