Gamma irradiation treatment of quince fruit (Cydonia oblonga Mill): effect on post-harvest retention of storage quality and inhibition of fungal decay

Abstract

Quince fruits harvested at commercial maturity were evaluated for using the feasibility of gamma irradiation to maintain storage quality and extend shelf-life. Matured green quince fruits were irradiated in the dose range of 0.3-2.1 kGy followed by storage under ambient (temperature 15 ± 2°C, RH 85%) conditions. The fruits were evaluated at intervals of 5 days for various physico-chemical parameters to investigate the effect. Studies revealed that irradiation treatment significantly (p ≤ 0.05) maintained the storage quality of quince fruit under ambient conditions. Positive correlations (r = 0.88) existed between the irradiation treatment and firmness retention, while as an inverse correlation (r = -0.89) existed between radiation treatment and water soluble pectin. Color scores of the fruits showed that extent of decrease in L value was 13.1% in control fruits compared to 3.4% and 2.8% in 1.8 kGy and 2.1 kGy irradiated fruits after 30 days of storage. Retention of higher hue values (79.8) in 2.1 kGy treated fruits indicated inhibition of chlorophyll degradation at higher doses. Microbial analysis indicated that in samples irradiated at 1.8 and 2.1 kGy, no microbial load was detected up to 15 days of ambient storage and resulted in about 2.4 log reduction in microbial load after 30 days of storage. Dose range of 1.8-2.1 kGy significantly inhibited the decaying of quince and resulted in about 40 days extension under ambient storage.

Impact of electron beam irradiation on the chlorophyll degradation and antioxidant capacity of mango fruit

“…However, in this study, E-beam had no effect on Chlase activity, implying that E-beam irradiation may delay chlorophyll degradation via the suppression of Chl-POX and PPH activities at the end of storage. Previous researches have shown that ionizing gamma irradiation maintains chlorophyll content in quince fruit [ 18 ], tomatoes [ 19 ], plums [ 20 ], and pears [ 21 ]. This may be caused by the effect of irradiation on chlorophyll-degrading enzymes, as seen in this work.…”

“…Ionizing irradiation is a form of non-thermal technology that is widely used to solve various agricultural problems, such as inactivating the food-borne pathogens, suppressing the sprouting of tuber crops, delaying the ripening of harvested produce, and controlling postharvest losses caused by insect and fungal infestations [ 17 ]. Ionizing gamma irradiation has been reported to maintain chlorophyll content in quince fruit [ 18 ], tomatoes [ 19 ], plums [ 20 ], pears [ 21 ], fenugreek, and spinach [ 22 ] whereas ionizing E-beam treatment could reduce postharvest disease, maintain firmness and also delay the color change of mango fruit [ 23 ]. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the effect of ionizing E-beam irradiation on chlorophyll-degrading enzymes and the correlation between chlorophyll degradation and ROS production in mangoes.…”

Evolving challenges and strategies for fungal control in the food supply chain

“…An additional concern can be regulatory, especially in the EU where some countries limit the use of irradiation to dried herbs, spices and vegetable seasonings whereas the application extends to fresh produce in the US and other parts of the world ( Eustice, 2018 ). Irradiation of quince fruit (1.2–2.1 kGy) reduced spoilage by yeasts and moulds after 5–15 d by up to 3.8–4.9 log ( Hussain et al. , 2019 ).…”

Effect of low‐dose high‐energy electron beam irradiation on postharvest storage quality of Actinidia arguta

“…Notably, the 400 Gy EBI treatment group exhibited better effects. Similarly,Truc et al (2020) found that the 500 Gy EBI treatment could significantly delay the TSS content increase in mango during 4-16 days storage but had no significant effect on fruit VC content (p < .05) Hussain et al (2019). reported that 1.8 and 2.1 kGy gamma ray irradiation could retain the TSS and total sugar content of papaya at a low level during storage, which could effectively delay fruitTA B L E 1Notes: Each value is a mean of three replications ± SE.…”