NARESH KUMAR*, PRAVEEN KUMAR, JAYANTI TOKAS AND H. R. SINGAL
Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar-125 004 (Haryana), India
*(e-mail : soninaresh2809@gmail.com)
(Received : December 15, 2017; Accepted : February 15, 2018)
ABSTRACT
The present investigation was carried out to study the post-harvest morpho-physiological changes in tomato (Hisar Arun) under the effect of exogenous application of salicylic acid. It was observed that there was a progressive increase in the physiological loss in weight and total soluble solids, while the fruit firmness exhibited continuous decrease throughout the storage time. The fruits treated with 0.75 mM salicylic acid enhanced shelf life as evident from the delayed increase in PLW and decrease in fruit firmness.The tomato fruits expressed the change in colour according to the biological chart of USDA (1991) during storage period. The treated fruits, especially at concentrations 0.75 mM and 1.0 mM, showed the delay in colour change. The results obtained in the present research indicated that the 0.75 mM concentration of SA was most effective in delaying the ripening related morphological changes.
Key words : Colour, firmness, salicylic acid, tomato, weight