Physical and chemical properties of green chili pepper during storage in response to pre- and post-harvest application of moringa leaf extract

Abstract

The primary challenge encountered by marketers of green chili peppers is the rapid post-harvest deterioration. The application of pre- and post-harvest moringa leaf extract (MLE) is an effective approach to preserving the quality of fruits after being harvested. This study aimed to assess the effect of MLE application at pre- and post-harvest periods on physical and chemical properties of green chili during storage. For this purpose, a completely randomized design was arranged with nine replications. Pre-harvest MLE (seed soaking + foliar spraying with MLE) treatment showed a similar response to the control. Meanwhile, post-harvest MLE application on fruit by dipping method had better results on L*, a*, weight loss, firmness, and vitamin C after 7 d of storage compared to the control. These results suggested that post-harvest MLE application was more effective in prolonging the self-life of green chili, particularly in maintaining the physical attributes.

Keywords

• Foliar spray
• green chili
• moringa leaf extract
• post-harvest
• quality