Efforts to enhance post-harvest quality of acid lime ( Citrus aurantifolia swingle)

Acid lime (Citrus aurantifolia) is a commercially important fruit crop grown across all climatic zones of Nepal. However, farmers incur significant post-harvest losses due to improper handling and storage practices. A laboratory experiment was conducted at Dhankuta, Nepal from December 2022 to March 2023 to study the effect of storage conditions and post-harvest treatments on quality and shelf life of acid lime cv. Terhathum Local. This study employed two factorial randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. Three types of storage facilities (cellar, cool bot, and normal room) and seven different post-harvest treatments with wax and calcium chloride (CaCl2) was used. Results revealed that the combination of 4% CaCl2 + waxing (10%) significantly reduced PLW to the minimum of 10.76% compared to 21.88% in untreated control. The highest retention of vitamin C (59.29 mg/100 g and 59.11 mg/100 g respectively) was recorded in case of cool chamber with Cool Bot storage and a combination of 4% CaCl2 + waxing (10%). The longest shelf life of 92 days was observed in fruits treated with 4% CaCl2 + 10% wax followed by storage in cool chamber with Cool Bot storage. A combination of 4% CaCl2 + waxing (10%) as post-harvest treatment followed by storage in cool chamber with Cool Bot improves post-harvest quality and extend shelf life of acid lime. These findings offer practical solutions for farmers to reduce losses during peak production and fetch better market prices. Further multi-season, multi-variety validation under commercial conditions with varying concentrations is recommended.