Effect of Pre-Harvest Application of Gibberellic Acid on Fruit Quality and Shelf Life of Mandarin (<i>Citrus reticulata</i> Blanco)

Abstract

Mandarin ( Citrus reticulata Blanco) is a promising fruit crop gaining popularity for its human nutrition and economic importance in Nepal. The qualitative losses during pre-harvest stage hinder the productivity and subsequently shorten the on-tree storability. An experiment was conducted to assess the effect of gibberellic acid on quality and shelf life of the mandarin fruit. GA 3 at 10, 20, and 30 ppm as against of control were evaluated. Observations on fruit weight (g), fruit firmness (kg/cm 2 ), rind colour (1 - 5 index), juice recovery (%), TSS/acid ratio, PLW (%), decay loss (%), and ascorbic acid (mg/100 ml) were recorded at three harvesting dates i.e. 20 Nov, 5 Dec, and 20 Dec and storage condition. It has been revealed that the fruits treated with GA 3 at 20 ppm retained higher fruit weight (128.6 g), more firmness (3.54 kg/cm 2 ), better juice recovery (57.75%), and greater TSS/acid ratio (21.24) at the end of study (20 December). The PLW was found less with GA 3 at 30 ppm in both ambient (5.17%) and cellar (6.69%) condition as against untreated fruits (9.52% and 11.76%). Similarly, the decay loss was minimum in the fruits treated with GA 3 at 30 ppm both with ambient (1.02%) and cellar condition (8.21%) as against control with ambient (5.54%) and cellar (21.58%).