Preharvest factors influence postharvest quality of tomatoes. Whereas water stress improves fruit total soluble solids; and polyethylene is used for packaging of fresh horticultural produce, little is known about their combined effects on quality and shelf life of tomatoes. The objective of this study was to investigate the independent and interactive effects of deficit irrigation and packaging on postharvest quality and shelf life of tomatoes. The experiment was a split plot arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replicates. Packaging was the main treatment and water levels the sub treatments. Water treatments were 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100% of pot capacity (PC). Packaging treatments were perforated, non-perforated and non-packaged (control). Fruits harvested at breaker stage were stored at 21±2ºC. Quality parameters assessed were fruit weight loss, colour change, firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity and shelf life. Polyethylene bags commonly used in the market (22 x 6.37 cm of size; 0.02 mm of thickness) were used as packaging material. At 16 days storage, unpackaged fruit had lost 34.23% of initial weight compared to 9.06% in perforated and 4.43% in nonperforated packaging. At 8 days of storage, 20% PC fruits were firmer than 80% PC fruits. At 10 days storage, 20% PC fruits were firmer compared to those from 40 and 80% PC. Total Soluble Solids (TSS) increased with decrease in moisture level. At 10 DAH, the lowest TSS was recorded in fruits subjected to 100% PC and highest in 40% PC. Deficit Irrigation effectively regulates tomato fruit quality; and combining it with packaging can enhance shelf life of tomato fruits.

Aims: This experiment was done to investigate the effect of adding Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil (REO) in tomato juice and paste during processing in condition of reduced thermal treatment on nutritional qualities and evaluate their postharvest shelf life under Bacillus cereus spore contamination. Place and Duration of Study: Laboratory of Microbiology, University of Yaoundé I, Cameroon, from January 2017 to June 2018. Methodology: Total polyphenol content was determined using the Folin Ciocalteu coloric method; the Titatrable acidity and vitamin C content were determined by titration with indicator method. The effect of level of Bacillus cereus contamination, time of thermal treatment and concentration of REO was assessed using a experimental CCD plan. The shelf life was estimated using the storage efficacy of the product on a period of time, and calculated based on the percentage of spoiled products. Data were analysed using XLSLTAT and STATISTICA packages for non-linear regression analyses. Results: Only 10 min pasteurization at 95°C in the presence of 100ppm of ROE was necessary to totally deactivate 104 Bacillus cereus spores/g in tomato juice while for tomato paste the same concentration of ROE needed 20 min pasteurization at 95°C to totally deactivate up to 108 Bacillus cereus spores/g. Total polyphenols, Titratable acidity and Vitamin C content were affected under this combined processing technique. The storage efficacy of tomato products and hence the extended shelf life was as a result of combined effects between cooking time and microbial load percent reduction that depended on the spore load concentration. Conclusion: Using Rosmarinus officinalis essential oil can help reduce the thermal impact during tomato juice and paste processing even in condition of high contamination of spores of Bacillus cereus. Moreover in this processing condition, nutritional compounds are not significantly impacted.