Effect of wrapping, chemical and thermal treatments on fruit shelf life and quality in pomegranate cv. Shirin Kolbad

Pomegranate is native to subtropical regions of Iran. Losses of horticultural products are a major problem in the postharvest chain. In this experiment, six different wrapping (polyethylene and paper covering), chemical (calcium chloride and wax) and thermal (4 °C and outdoor) treatments were applied on the fruits of pomegranate cv Shirin Kolbad and some physicochemical properties were measured in control fruits at harvesting time and in treated fruits two and four months after storage. The study showed that different treatments did not have any significant influence on phenol and flavonoid, but they increased after four months of storage. Control fruits showed the highest amounts of total soluble solids (20.01 °Brix), acidity (0.35 mg/100 ml fruit juice) and vitamin C (31.81 mg/100 ml fruit juice), but the lowest amount of PH (2.47). The highest amount of glucose was observed in treatments polyethylene and paper covering (0.98 and 0.84 g/100 ml fruit juice, respectively) and the highest amount of fructose (22.89 g/100 ml fruit juice) was seen in fruits stored in 4 °C. The results also showed that after four months of storage uncovered fruits had the highest amount of anthocyanin, which can be due to the higher concentration of CO2 under the coverage. The results showed that after four months of storage, polyethylene and wax had the best effect on preventing the weight loss and on the keeping the properties of pomegranate fruits.