Subrata Mukharjee

Application of Pgrs and Chemicals on Guava: Potentiality of Pre and Post Harvest Application on Guava Qualitative Characteristics Subrata Mukharjee

Guava (Psidium guajava L.) being soft skinned fruits is subjected to various post harvest diseses and physico-chemical changes during storage,therefore, become unfit for consumption with in short duration. It is mostly marketed locally resulting in glut during season leading to low selling price and heavy losses to the producer. So, minimizing these losses one can increase their supply without merging additional area under cultivation, therefore, reduction in post harvest losses and to enhance the shelf life of guava without much deterioration in quality became vitally inportant. All the PGRs and chemicals under study increased the shelf life of guava. Amonst treatments pre and post harvest application of calcium nitrate and calcium chloride were found to be most effective for maintaining all the physico- chemical chracterstic during storage. As PGRs and chemicals reduced the respiration rate with other degradative activities of fruit resulting in maintaining the consumptive quality of fruits with acceptable qualitative characteristics and better shelf life.