Acta Hortic. 1179. ISHS 2017. DOI 10.17660/ActaHortic.2017.1179.27 Proc. III Southeast Asia Symp. on Quality Management in Postharvest Systems Eds.: A.L. Acedo Jr. et al. 177 Modified atmosphere packaging of cauliflower under ambient and evaporative cooling conditions in Nepal B.P. Mishra 1 , S.S. Pant 1 , D.M. Gautam 2 , K.M. Tripathi 2 , A.L. Acedo Jr. 3 , W. Easdown 3 , J.A. Hughes 4 and J.D.H. Keatinge 4 1 Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science, Chitwan, Nepal; 2 Agriculture and Forestry University, Chitwan, Nepal; 3 AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center South Asia, Hyderabad, India; 4 AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center Headquarters, Shanhua, Tainan, Taiwan. Abstract An experiment was carried out to evaluate the efficacy of perforated modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) on shelf life and quality of cauliflower in an evaporative cooling (EC) structure and ambient room conditions. Freshly harvested cauliflowers ‘Snow Mystic’ were sealed in 50µ low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bags with different numbers of perforations and kept in EC (28.3±3.7°C, 90-99% RH) and ambient room conditions (30±6°C, 76±15% RH). Perforations were made with an ordinary punching machine. The treatments were: no perforations, four perforations, eight perforations, 12 perforations, 16 perforations, and open in tray (control). Each treatment consisted of four heads of cauliflower and was replicated three times. All the MAPs were opened on the 5 th day, and cauliflowers were held under the same conditions for further study. During holding in MAP, bulging of the bag and condensation of water were very high in MAP without perforations. The more perforations, the less was the condensation of water. At the 5 th day, all cauliflowers with no perforations were completely spoiled. Weight loss and other physicochemical changes were less in all MAP compared with the controls. All the changes were delayed and shelf life was maintained better in EC. MAP with 16 perforations was the best among all treatments. With the smaller numbers of perforations, the occurrence of browning was higher. Keywords: LDPE, perforations, MAP, storage condition, evaporative cooler INTRODUCTION Cauliflower, being a perishable vegetable, cannot be kept for long periods under ordinary conditions. Fresh cauliflower is metabolically active, has higher rates of respiration and water loss, and is prone to physical injury and susceptible to microbes. At present, about 15-40% of vegetable supply in Nepal is subjected to postharvest loss (AVRDC, 2015; ANSAB, 2015). In developing countries like Nepal, sophisticated storage technology is beyond the reach of poor farmers and entrepreneurs. There is a need to develop low-cost technologies that are applicable to poor farmers in the villages. The evaporative cooler (EC) is a simple technology that works on the principle of an evaporative cooling system; it requires no electricity and can be called zero-energy storage (Jha and Chopra, 2006; Lal Basediya et al., 2013). The EC is a simple structure inside a double brick-lined wall. The space between the walls is filled with gravel and sand and is frequently watered to maintain high humidity and reduce temperature as a result of evaporation. EC is the best technical and economical substitute for refrigeration that maintains low temperature and high relative humidity (Alabadan et al., 2008; Odesola and Onyebuchi, 2009). MAP has been used effectively to prolong the shelf life of many fresh vegetables in many countries during storage and marketing (Jha and Chopra, 2006; Dadhich et al., 2008; Nasrin et al., 2008; Odesola and Onyebuchi, 2009). So far, no studies have been made in Nepal on EC and MAP storage of cauliflowers. This study was envisaged to evaluate the performance perforated 50µ low-density polyethylene (LDPE) bags on quality and shelf life of cauliflowers under both EC and ambient conditions.