EFFECT OF CALCIUM NITRATE ON PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHANGES AND SHELF-LIFE OF AONLA (Emblica officinalis Gaertn) FRUITS

The experiment was conducted at the Department of Horticulture, C.S.A. University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur during the year 2006-07 to find out effect of calcium nitrate on physico-chemical changes and shelf-life of aonla fruit. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was selected with four treatments of calcium nitrate (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 per cent with control) and four other treatments of cultivars (Banarasi, Krishna, Kanchan and NA-7) and 5 days, 10 days and 15 days of storage period. Experiments unit was 1 kg fruit in perforated polythene bags. Fruits were treated and stored on 17 November, 2006. As regards among the treatments tried as post-harvest dip at 1.0 per cent calcium nitrate treatment proved most effective in respect to increase physico-chemical qualities and shelf-life of aonla fruits. The 1.0 per cent calcium nitrate treated fruits significantly reduced the physiological loss in weight, pathological loss, exhibited better quality on account of its favourable effect on total soluble solids, total sugar and in retaining more ascorbic acid and acidity thereby rendering them acceptable upto period of 15 days. Different cultivars could keep well up to 5 days with 'Excellent' rating, 10 days with 'Good' rating while only NA-7 and Krishna with 'Fair' rating upto 15 days.