The Effect of Locust Bean Gum Based Edible Coating on the Quality ofSweet Cherry (Prunusavium L. cvs. Siah Mashhad) During Preservation

Iran, with more than two hundred thousand tons of sweet cherry production in a year, is one the three top producers of this commodity in the world. Although the cherry produced in Iran is of high quality, but a large amount of this product is wasted due to its high perishability and sensitivity. Therefore, the aim of the present research was to increase the shelf life of the sweet cherry (cv. Siah Mashhad) with the aid of the coating method. In this regard an edible coating based on locust bean gum was used to coat sweet cherries and the properties of the coated samples including their weight loss, acidity, pH, soluble solid, maturity index, firmness and color changes were monitored during 30 days at 4℃ and 15% relative humidity. Also the results were compared to those of the non-coated samples. According to the results during the storage period, the samples acidity and pH did not change significantly, but the weight loss, soluble solid and the maturity index of the cherries increased and their firmness decreased significantly (p<0.05). Color measurements showed that the L and a color parameters of the cherries and their stems decreased significantly during the storage period. A comparison between the coated and the non-coated samples showed that the coating used in this study significantly decreased the rate of changes in weight loss, soluble solid, maturity index, firmness and color. Therefore, the coating used in this study could be recognized as an effective material for increasing the shelf life of sweet cherry.