The Effect of Chitosan Coating on the Storage of Bell Pepper (Capsicum annum L.)

One of the limitations of keeping, marketing, and exporting capsicum (Capsicum annum L.) is its rapid ripening after harvesting and microbial spoilage, which reduces the quality properties and spoilage of this product. These challenges have been effectively mitigated by using post-harvest techniques. Edible coating treatments can be used after harvesting different fruits. The purpose of this experiment is to use chitosan at four levels (zero, ۰.۵, ۱, and ۲%) over time (zero, ۷, ۱۴, ۲۱, and ۲۸ days) with four repetitions on the quality after harvesting bell peppers. The variety of California Wonder is a factorial experiment in the form of a completely randomized design. The results showed that a ۲% concentration of chitosan prevented weight loss in ۲۸ days. At the end of the experiment, a ۲% chitosan treatment compared to the control caused a decrease in TSS by ۴۲.۲%. The highest amount of chlorophyll a was observed in the chitosan treatment compared to the control in ۲۸ days. The most significant increase in chlorophyll b in sweet pepper, with a concentration of ۲% at zero time, was ۱۱۳.۳۳% compared to the control. The carotenoid content of sweet pepper showed a significant increase of ۹۷.۱۴% compared to time ۰ in the control at the time of ۲۸ days. The results of the average comparison showed that chitosan with a concentration of ۰.۵, ۱, and ۲, respectively, in ۲۸ days caused a decrease in ion leakage by ۸.۵۶, ۹, and ۹.۵۷, respectively, compared to the control in ۲۸ days. The results showed that different concentrations of Chitosan and especially the concentration of ۲% compared to the control, maintained the quality after harvesting and delayed the aging of bell pepper fruit. According to the results of this research, it is recommended to use this edible coating as an application to increase the shelf life of bell peppers.

Keywords:

Weight loss , Chlorophyll , Quality , Ion Leakage , کاهش وزن , کلروفیل , کیفیت , نشت یونی