EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PACKAGING MATERIALS ON STORABILITY OF FIG 'POONA FIG'

Fig fruits ‘Poona Fig’ at full ripe stage harvested from a five-year-old plant and packed in different packaging materials under study were stored at room temperature at (24 to 28°C) with different packages. It was found that the physiological loss in weight (PLW) and rotting percentage of fruits increased with increase in storage period regardless of packaging material. However, minimum PLW and decay loss was observed under CFB boxes with paper shreddings as cushioning material. The fruits could be stored up to 4 days when packed in CFB boxes with paper shreddings followed by CFB boxes with newspaper as compared to fruits packed in conventional package bag (2 days). The sensory evaluation indicated superiority of CFB boxes with paper shreddings as cushioning material over other packages.