Postharvest Biology and Technology 22 (2001) 61 – 69 Effects of shrink film wrapping and storage temperature on the shelf life and quality of pomegranate fruits cv. Ganesh S. Nanda, D.V. Sudhakar Rao *, Shantha Krishnamurthy Diision of Post Harest Technology, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hessaraghatta Lake, Bangalore 560 089, India Received 2 May 2000; accepted 18 September 2000 Abstract The effects of individual shrink film wrapping with two polyolefin films (BDF-2001 and D-955) and skin coating with a sucrose polyester (SPE) Semperfresh™ on the shelf life and quality of soft-seeded ‘Ganesh’ pomegranates (Punica granatum L.) stored at 8, 15 and 25°C were studied. The shrink-wrapped pomegranates could be stored for 12, 9 and 4 weeks as compared to 8, 6 and 2 weeks by SPE coating at 8, 15 and 25°C respectively, whereas non-wrapped fruits could be kept for 7, 5 and 1 week under similar storage conditions. Peel thickness and freshness and firmness of the fruit were retained and weight loss greatly reduced by shrink wrapping. The weight loss in shrink-wrapped fruits was 1.2–1.3% after 12 weeks of storage at 8°C and 2.2–3.7% after 10 weeks at 15°C. During the same period non-wrapped fruits lost 20.4 and 30.7% at 8 and 15°C, respectively. Changes in acidity, sugars and vitamin C of the shrink-wrapped fruits were lower than that of non-wrapped fruits during 12 weeks of storage at 8°C. Shrink wrapping also reduced the respiration rate of the fruit. No detectable levels of ethylene were produced during storage of pomegranates. © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Pomegranate; Shrink wrapping; Skin coating; Storage temperature; Composition; Respiration www.elsevier.com/locate/postharvbio 1. Introduction Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) is an impor- tant fruit crop of many tropical and subtropical regions of the world, grown especially in the moderate climates of Mediterranean countries. As production has increased, proper storage and marketing of these fruit is needed to meet the demand both in domestic and export markets. The fruit are generally harvested fully ripe with a waxy shining surface of reddish yellow or greenish red peel colour, depending on the cultivar. The major storage problem is desiccation of the fruit resulting in a brownish coloured tough peel and browning of arils. Although the peel appears to be thick, it has numerous minute openings that per- mit free movement of water vapour, making the fruit highly susceptible to water loss (Kader et al., 1984). Further, the storage temperature recom- mended for pomegranates has varied from 0 to * Corresponding author. Tel.: +91-80-8466420; fax: +91- 80-8466291.. E-mail addresses: sudhadvrao@hotmail.com (D.V. Sud- hakar Rao), shanthakrishna@hotmail.com (S. Krishna- murthy). 0925-5214/01/$ - see front matter © 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII:S0925-5214(00)00181-2