~ 3035 ~ International Journal of Chemical Studies 2020; 8(6): 3035-3042 P-ISSN: 2349–8528 E-ISSN: 2321–4902 www.chemijournal.com IJCS 2020; 8(6): 3035-3042 © 2020 IJCS Received: 19-09-2020 Accepted: 25-10-2020 B Naveena Ph. D Scholar, Department of Post-Harvest Process & Food Engineering, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India Genitha Immanuel Associate Professor, Department of Food Process Engineering, SHUATS, Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India Corresponding Author: B Naveena Ph. D Scholar, Department of Post-Harvest Process & Food Engineering, JNKVV, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India Effect of dipping treatments on storage life of fruits and vegetables B Naveena and Genitha Immanuel Abstract Minimizing post-harvest losses of horticultural perishables is a very effective way of reducing the area needed for production and/or increasing food availability. This research investigated the effectiveness of dipping treatments on storage life of fruits and vegetables. Bananas, Tomatoes and Cucumbers were dipped in Calcium Chloride, Sodium Chloride and Lime juice solutions with different steeping time. The effects of these agents on pre-treated fruits and vegetables were evaluated by analyzing the pH, TSS, Weight loss and Shelf life. The results indicated that due to pre-treatment increase in pH, TSS and Weight loss was low in fruits and vegetables dipped in Calcium Chloride and Sodium Chloride as compared to Control, there was no significant difference between fruits and vegetables dipped in Lime juice and control. Shelf life of Bananas dipped in Calcium Chloride with a steeping time of 10 min was increased from 7 days to 9 days, Shelf life of Tomatoes was increased from 10 days to 13 days and Shelf life of Cucumbers was increased from 16 days to 22 days. Overall, Calcium Chloride was observed to be effective in increasing the shelf life of fruits and vegetables. Keywords: Post-harvest losses, perishables, dipping treatments, calcium chloride, sodium chloride, lime juice 1. Introduction Fruits and vegetables are a major source of essential dietary nutrients such as vitamins and minerals (Sagar and Suresh Kumar, 2010) [8] . Moreover, polyphenols, such as anthocyanins, flavonols and phenolic acids, constitute one of the most numerous and ubiquitous groups of plant metabolites. They are an integral part of both human and animal diets and are also assumed to be beneficial for human health due to their biological activities, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antiviral functions. Fruits and vegetables contain important plant chemicals, calcium and magnesium. They contain phytochemicals, these biologically active substances can help to protect from some diseases. They have health benefits for consumers, due to their content of fibre, carbohydrates, vitamins and antioxidant compounds. Fruits and vegetables are low in fat, salt and sugar. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a daily intake of five to eight portions (400 –600 g) of fruits and vegetables to reduce the risk of micronutrient deficiencies, cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive impairment, and other diet-related health conditions (Rodriguez-Casado, 2016) [7] . Post harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are serious problem because of rapid deterioration during handling, transport and storage in tropical regions (Yahia, 1998) [10] . These loses are due to changes in texture, flavour, odour and nutritional value after harvest. Post-harvest losses of fresh fruits and vegetables minimize rate of deterioration. Length of storage, respiration, transpiration, chemical composition, external appearance, anatomical structures, delay harvesting, taste qualities and other post harvest behaviours have significant impact on fruit quality. These controllable and uncontrollable factors affect the attainment of maximum quality of fruits (Babalola et al., 2010) [1] . The banana is an edible fruit – botanically a berry which is produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. In banana, post harvest compositional changes following are important since banana is a climacteric fruit. Cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the most important vegetables around the world. It is a widely cultivated plant in the gourd family, Cucurbitaceae. It is a creeping vine that bears cucumiform fruits that are used as vegetables. Tomato is one of the most produced and extensively consumed vegetable crops in the world which belongs to Solanaceae family.