STORAGE POTENTIAL OF TOMATOES HARVESTED AT THE BREAKER STAGE USING MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING

Breaker tomatoes sealed in polymeric film (MAP) were stored at 15-degrees-C 23 days. A steady state of about 3.5-4.0 % O2 and CO2 was established. Mean concentrations of the gases within 24 hr of packaging were minimum 2.5 % O2 and maximum 8.0% CO2. Thereafter gas concentration moved gradually to a steady state; no evidence of anoxic conditions occurred. After 23 days of MAP storage fruit ripened normally under ambient conditions. Quality evaluations demonstrated that 15-degrees-C MAP storage permitted harvesting of breaker stage of ripeness tomatoes without reducing storage life to an unacceptable duration. MAP delayed changes in acidity, soluble solids, texture, color and polygalacturonase activity and resulted in substantial reduction in fruit weight loss and spoilage as compared to breaker fruit without film packaging.