Introduction: Indian Ziziphus is one of the important fruits of tropical and subtropical crops. This research evaluates the effect of salicylic acid and gum arabic on some postharvest qualitative and quantitative characteristics of this fruit (Ziziphus mauritina Lam,).
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Introduction: Indian Ziziphus is one of the important fruits of tropical and subtropical crops. This research evaluates the effect of salicylic acid and gum arabic on some postharvest qualitative and quantitative characteristics of this fruit (Ziziphus mauritina Lam,). Materials and Methods: The fruits were washed and then immersed in different concentrations of salicylic acid (1mM, 2mM and 4mM) and gum arabic (5 and 10%) along with a blank for fifteen minutes. The fruits were then packed and kept in the refrigerator at 4°C. The fruits were removed from the refrigerator every seven days for a period of thirty days and different characteristics such as weight loss, hardness, color, acidity and ascorbic acid content were evaluated. The factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with three replications was conducted. Results: The total acidity in all the treatments except salicylic acid (2 mM) and gum arabic (10%) were higher than the control samples (p<0.05). Gum arabic (10%) showed the highest stiffness however not statistically significant. Salicylic acid maintained the appearance of the fruits at all the concentrations. Salicylic acid at 4 mM had the best activity, while at the concentration of 2 mM the conversion of green to yellow (the Hue) was the least. The treatment with 10% gum arabic was the best treatment concerned with the weight loss. Conclusion: The results indicated that salicylic acid has preserved the appearance, brightness and gum arabic (10%) was more effective for hardness and affected the weight loss.
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