VACUUM IMPREGNATION OF ALOE VERA GEL MAINTAINS POSTHARVEST QUALITY OF PEACH AND SWEET CHERRY FRUIT

Although peach is a climacteric fruit and sweet cherry a non-climacteric fruit both are considered as perishable with a reduced shelf life, and then refrigeration under proper temperature is not enough to delay the quality losses and prolong the storability. For this reason in this work commercial Aloe vera gel at several concentrations (0, 33, 66 and 100% v/v) was used for postharvest treatment through vacuum impregnation at 0.2 mbar for 5 min on ‘Rich Lady’ peach and ‘Prime Giant’ sweet cherry. Following treatments fruit were stored at 2°C and RH 90%. Samples were taken from chamber at regular intervals and quality traits were determined. Results showed that Aloe vera gel was able to delay the postharvest ripening process of both peach and sweet cherry fruit by retarding weight loss, colour changes, firmness loss, the increase of total soluble solids, and the decrease in total acidity. In addition, respiration rate and ethylene production was also delayed. For most quality parameters the effect was concentration-dependent. Overall, results suggest that Aloe vera gel at 100% was the best concentration to maintain postharvest quality of both peach and sweet cherry.