Impact of calcium chloride concentrations and storage duration on quality attributes of peach (Prunus persica)

To investigate the impact of CaCl2 concentrations and storage duration on quality of peach (Prunus persica), a research was conducted at postharvest Laboratory, Department of Horticulture, The University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during 2012–2013. The experiment was laid out in Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with factorial arrangement repeated three times. The peach fruits (cv. Texas A 69) were harvested at physiological maturity stage from peach orchard, Horticulture Farm. The fruits were dipped in 0, 2 and 4% CaCl2 solution for 10 min and transferred to cold storage having ±8–10°C with relative humidity of 80–85%. The application of CaCl2 solution and storage duration significantly influenced the fruit quality of peach fruit. However, the application of CaCl2 solution significantly reduced weight loss (4.98%), disease incidence (2.08%), total sugars (5.31%), TSS-Acid ratio (16.27), TSS(7.380Brix) and increased the fruit firmness (2.21 kg cm–2) titratable acidity (0.47%) and Ascorbic acid (5.35 mg/100 g) of peach fruits. The storage duration of peach fruit also significantly affected the fruit quality attributes during storage. The peach fruit stored for 30 days showed less fruit firmness (0.74 kg cm–2) and titratable acidity (0.31%), Ascorbic acid (4.45 mg/100 g) and increased weight loss (19.74%), disease incidence (16.11%), total sugars (6.07%), TSSAcid ratio (27.62) and TSS(8.540Brix) of peach fruit. Based on the findings of this study, it is concluded that the peach fruit should be treated with 4% CaCl2 solution to retain the quality attributes for 30 days storage.