The fruits of Msasa and Jaffa orange varieties were harvested and subjected to post-harvest treatments namely; dipping in hexanal, dipping in calcium chloride and compared with untreated control; and they were stored at ambient (28 ± 2°C) and reduced temperatures (18 ± 2°C) conditions. Data were collected on the 0, 4 th , 8 th , and 12 th days from the date of fruit harvest. Chemical analyses were conducted to determine vitamin C content, total sugars, reducing sugars and total flavonoids. Post-harvest treatments had a significant effect on vitamin C and total flavonoids of Jaffa orange fruit. Hexanal treated fruit had higher values of total flavonoids, vitamin C, and total sugars compared to calcium chloride treated and control fruit. The storage durations showed significant effects on the vitamin C content of Jaffa, total flavonoids, the total and reducing sugars of both fruit varieties. Vitamin C and total flavonoids decreased with increasing storage duration of fruit. The significant interactions of factors were observed on total sugar which was increasing with increasing storage duration, but higher in hexanal treated and ambient stored fruit. Based on consumer acceptance test, the hexanal treated fruits were the most liked followed by calcium chloride treated and untreated fruits based on the appearance, taste, texture and overall acceptability.

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Background Orange (Citrus sinensis L.) production in Tanzania is constrained by several pre-harvest factors that include pests. Hexanal, sprayed as Enhanced Freshness Formulation (EFF) is a relatively new technology that has been reported to reduce pre-harvest loss in fruits. However, the effects of hexanal on pre-harvest yield loss of orange are not known. We studied the effects of hexanal as EFF on yield losses of three sweet orange cultivars namely, Early Valencia, Jaffa, and Late Valencia. Factorial experiments tested the effects of EFF concentration, variety, and time of EFF application on number of dropped fruit, percentage of non-marketable fruit and incidence of pest damage. Results Results showed significant negative correlation (p < 0.001) between EFF and the percentage of dropped fruit, non-marketable yield, and incidence of pest damage. An increase in hexanal concentration by 1%, is expected to reduce number of dropped fruit by 50, percentage of non-marketable by 35.6, and incidences of pest damage by 36.5% keeping other factors constant. Results also show significant association (p < 0.001) between time of hexanal application and non-marketable yield. Percentage of dropped fruit is expected to increase by 1 for each day away from harvest, keeping other factors constant. Conclusion Pre-harvest application of hexanal as EFF can significantly reduce number of dropped fruits, percentage of non-marketable fruit and incidence of pest damage.