EFFECT OF DEHYDRATION AND COOLING STORAGE PRACTICES ON THE SHELF LIFE OF LIME (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle)

Abstract

Acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) is a popular acidulant used for culinary purposes and fresh fruit has . a high demand at the local market. Also the dried, whole black lime fruit has a very good market potential in Middle- Eastern countries. Perishability of the crop caused to high post harvest losses during its season. During the harvesting season, there is a peak of lime production, which lasts for 3 to 4 months and all the harvest enters to the market at once resulting in low price as less as one rupees per one. kilogram of lime. Seasonability of the crop is a very discouraging factor in lime cultivation in this country. If fruits could be stored or processed into an attractive form, the price fluctuation and losses could be minimized. In this study, attempts were taken to optimize of preservation method namely cooling and dehydration techniques in order to minimize the post harvest losses while extending the storage life of lime. The effect of cold room preservation on the storage life of lime fruits was investigated by using 150 ± 10g samples, belonging to three maturity stages with two different sizes. The samples were stored under ordinary cold storage at 10°C temperature and Modified Atmospheric (MA) condition with 10°C temperature and 85 - 90% relative humidity. Periodical observations were made at 7-day intervals on different physico-chemical parameters of fruits. Lime fruits kept in MA storage conditions had higher storage life span (more than two and half months) than the ordinary cold stored counterparts with good internal and external quality characters. Fully matured large sized fruits of MA storage condition had longer storage life than those having lower maturity or colour break stage. The effect of dehydration on the preservation of lime fruits was investigated by storing fully.matured uniform sized fruits at different temperature levels with pre treatment conditions. Dehydration of lime fruits under gradually increasing temperature from 45°C to 55°C with pretreatment of 40% brine solution is more successful than the other treatments. It gives more attractive uniformly distributed smooth appearance.

Shelf life of fruits kept in MA storage conditions can be extend with success during the peak season with view to provide the market with lime in off-season maintaining regular supply of lime fruits at a reasonable price. Dehydration of whole lime fruit is successful food preservation method for achieving a longer storage life.