Essential oils amended coatings in citrus postharvest management

Abstract

Synthetic fungicides have been used as a major tool for reducing postharvest decay and improving the shelf life of citrus fruits. The growing concerns about consumers health, environmental pollution and high handling cost of chemical fungicides have forced to move the modern citrus industry into safer alternatives. The edible coatings enriched with essential oils have been developed as an alternative and eco-friendly approach to control post-harvest decay and maintain the quality and shelf life of citrus fruits. This paper intended to review the efficacy of essential oils amended coating on citrus fruits with respect to disease control (blue mold and green mold), physical quality attributes [physiological weight loss, firmness, total soluble solid (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and vitamin C] and physiological processes (respiration rate and ethylene production) and tried to correlate their applicability in the Nepalese context. The integration of antifungal edible coatings along with the existing management practices (sanitation, physical methods and cold storage) could provide effective results in postharvest quality and disease management of citrus. The applicability and efficacy of essential oils amended coatings should be tested on a commercial scale to variable environmental conditions of Nepal.

Keywords

• Citrus
• Essential oils
• Postharvest
• Quality attributes
• Shelf life