Study on the effect of Aloe vera L. gel coating and Calcium Chloride on postharvest life of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam.

Flesh firmness is one of the most important characteristics to estimate the quality of Ziziphus mauritiana Lam. This study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of natural preservative and chemical preservative separately and in the combination in increasing the postharvest life period of Konar during storage. The experiments were carried out according to a completely randomized design (CRD) with six treatments (Aloe vera L. gel-coating and calcium chloride) and four replications. After harvesting and washing، the fruits were dipped in A. vera gel coating at the concentrations of 50%، 75% and 100% and calcium chloride at three concentrations of 0. 5%، 1. 0% and 1. 5% for five minutes. Treated fruits were stored under ambient storage for three weeks at 7° C and they were evaluated by the weight loss percentage، firmness percentage and total soluble solid rate. Results revealed that the least and the most amount of weight loss was observed in the calcium chloride 1% (1. 3%) and in the control group (66%). Our results clearly showed that the highest fruit firmness (6. 02 kg/cm2) was obtained in calcium chloride 1%، showing a significant difference as compared to other treatments. The lowest and the highest total soluble solids (TSS) was recorded for the treatment of Aloe vera gel 75% and calcium chloride 1% (15. 22%) and control fruits (18. 22%)، respectively.