Effect of Packaging and Waxing on Quality and Shelf-life of Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi Macf.)

Ebtihal H. M. Hamid; Ahmed B. A. Khalifa; Ahmed B. A. Khalifa; Abdelhamed M. Magbou

Ebtihal H. M. Hamid Kassala and Gash Research Station, Kassala, Kassala State, Sudan
Ahmed B. A. Khalifa Kassala and Gash Research Station, Kassala, Kassala State, Sudan
Ahmed B. A. Khalifa Kassala and Gash Research Station, Kassala, Kassala State, Sudan
Abdelhamed M. Magbou Agricultural Research Corporation, Wad Medani, Gizera State, Sudan

Keywords: grapefruit, packaging, polyethylene bag, wax, shelf-life

Abstract

Experiments were conducted in the laboratory of Kassala and Gash Research Station, Kassala, Sudan, to evaluate the effect of packaging and waxing on quality and storability of grapefruit during May and August of 2022 and 2023. The experiments were carried out at two level of temperature viz; 35°C and 20°C. Fruits were packaged in intact or perforated polyethylene bag, waxed, waxed with packaged in intact or waxed with perforated polyethylene bag or left unpackaged and unwaxed as control. Treatments were arranged in a completely randomized design with three replicates. The results of the two experiments showed that packaging grapefruit in wax with intact polyethylene bag resulted in lowest weight loss and titratable acidity and higher value of TSS compared to control in both seasons under 35°C and 20°C conditions. Moreover, longest shelf life was observed in case of waxed intact polyethylene bag treatment and the lowest shelf life was recorded for the control in both seasons under 35°C and 20°C conditions.