Effect of novel coconut oil and beeswax edible coating on postharvest quality of lemon at ambient storage

An experiment was conducted to assess the influence of coconut oil and beeswax coating and modified atmospheric packaging (MAP) on postharvest storage quality of lemon at ambient storage. Sorted lemons were washed with water; fruit surface water was removed by using fan and then coated with coconut oil and beeswax mixture (90:10 or 80:20) or only coconut oil. After coating, lemons were kept open in crates or in MAP and stored at ambient condition (21 ± 2 °C and 50 ± 5% RH). The effectiveness of edible coating and MAP in extending the shelf life of lemon with quality was evaluated by determining weight loss, respiration rate, ethylene production rate, firmness, shrinkage, yellowing, decay incidence, total soluble solid (TSS), pH, ascorbic acid, juice content and also organoleptic quality were assessed periodically during storage. The results revealed that coconut oil only and mixtures with beeswax (both formulations) coating especially with MAP had immense effect on retaining green colour, reducing respiration, ethylene production, weight loss and shriveling, preserving firmness and moisture content of lemon throughout the storage.