Effect of Postharvest Uv-C Treatments on Quality Attributes of Fresh Fig

Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine effects of postharvest UV-C treatment on fresh figs. Figs were subjected to UV-C irradiation at doses 0, 5, 10 and 20 min irradiation at 50 cm distance. Treated fruits were stored at 0-1 degrees C and 90-95 % relative humidity for four weeks. During the storage period weight loss, soluble solid content, titratable acidity, total sugar, cracking rate, decay rate and visual quality were determined at 7 days intervals. During storage period, total sugar and titratable acidity decreased while weight loss, total soluble solid content and cracking rate increased. Decay in control fruits increased faster than in UV-C treated fruits. The experiment results showed that the most effective treatment for maintaining fruit quality was UV-C 20 treatment. At the end of the cold storage all the fruits were in unmarketable stage except for UV-C 20 treated fruits.