The influence of liner packaging on weight loss and decay of pomegranate fruit

Weight loss and decay are prevalent physiological disorders that develop during the postharvest handling and storage of pomegranates. Internal packaging (IP) materials like plastic liners are frequently used during the cold chain to minimize the weight loss of the fruit. In this study, the effect of different packaging liners on the quality of pomegranate fruit were investigated. Freshly harvested pomegranate fruit 'Wonderful' was divided into 6 treatments: no-liner (control), non-perforated 'Decco', non-perforated 'Zoe', micro-perforated Xtend^®, macro-perforated 2 mm and macro-perforated 4 mm liners. Fruit were stored at 5°C and 90-95% relative humidity (RH) for 84 days and periodically the weight loss, fruit decay, respiration rate, gas composition and moisture condensation inside the film packages were measured. After 84 d of cold storage, fruit packed with no-liner lost 15.6±0.3% of initial weight. Non-perforated (Decco and Zoe) liners minimized the weight loss to 0.79 and 0.82%, compared to Xtend^® micro-perforated (4.17%), macro-perforated 2 mm (2.44%) and macro-perforated 4 mm (4.17%) liners, respectively. Micro and macro-perforation of liners allowed moisture exchange between fruit and air, minimizing moisture condensation and decreased fruit decay. Non-perforated liners minimized the weight loss most compared to other treatments. Potential financial losses due to decay incidence outweighed financial losses due to weight loss. Therefore, using micro-perforated Xtend^® and macro-perforated 4 mm liners can be considered to minimize postharvest losses associated with decay incidence inside packaging, compared to the use of non-perforated liners.