INTRODUTION
Papaya (Carica papaya L.) has gained popularity

in recent years because of ease of its cultivation, quick
returns and adaptability to diverse soil and climatic
conditions. Moreover, papaya fruits are delicious and
commercially important because of their high nutritive and
medicinal value. Papaya is cultivated in India in an area of
96,000ha, with production of 39,13,000t. In Andhra Pradesh,
the crop is grown in an area of 18,759ha, with production of
15,00,720t (NHB Database, 2010).  A new papaya cultivar,
Red Lady, introduced from Taiwan has replaced traditional
varieties like Coimbatore Selections, Coorg Honey Dew and
Pusa Selections because of its high productivity, red colour
flesh and gynodioecious nature. Papaya is a highly perishable
fruit and can be stored only for four days at room
temperature. Post-harvest losses in papaya up to 75 and 90
per cent have been reported in India and Costa Rica (Cerdaz
and Seenz, 1993). Storage of papaya fruits at low

Effect of chemicals and growth regulators on post-harvest shelf-life and quality in
papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Red Lady

D. Ramesh, B. Prasanna Kumar1, M. Rajasekhar and D.R. Salomi Suneetha
Horticultural College and Research Institute

Dr YSR Horticultural University
Venkataramannagudem - 534 101, India
E-mail: prasanna652002@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT
The present investigation on papaya (Carica papaya L.) cv. Red Lady was carried out at Horticultural College and

Research Institute, Venkataramannagudem, West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, during the year 2010-11. The
study was carried out using 9 different treatments involving two chemicals calcium nitrate and calcium chloride at 1,
2, 3 and 4% concentration and two growth regulators, viz., GA3 at 75, 100, 150 and 200mg/l, and BA at 100, 125, 150
and 175mg/l concentration conducted separately in a factorial concept of completely randomized design (CRD), with
three replications, under laboratory conditions. Physical parameters studied were per cent fruit ripening, physiological
loss in weight (PLW), fruit firmness, shelf-life, and, physic-chemical properties studied were: total soluble solids
(TSS), total sugars, reducing sugars, acidity, ascorbic acid and Brix:acid ratio. Fruits treated with CaCl2 @ 4%
showed significantly low PLW, per cent fruit ripening, and the highest fruit-firmness, shelf-life, lowest total soluble
solids, total sugars, reducing sugars, Brix:acid ratio, and highest acidity and ascorbic acid content, which were on par
with CaCl2 @ 2% application. Fruits treated with GA3 @ 100mg/l also exhibited similar results for these parameters.
It was concluded that CaCl2 @ 4 % had a beneficial impact on shelf-life of papaya fruits upto 10.67 days without any
loss in either physical or physic-chemical properties. Similarly, application of growth regulators such as GA3 and BA
@100mg/l significantly increased shelf-life of papaya fruits upto 12 days and 11 days, respectively, while showing the
best physical and physico-chemical properties.

Key words: Papaya, PLW, GA, BA, calcium chloride, fruit firmness, total soluble solids

temperature is limited, as, these are susceptible to chilling
injury. However, experimental evidence has revealed that
post-harvest treatment of fruits, in general, with various
ripening retardants like wax emulsion, gibberellins, calcium
chloride, benzyl adenine and spermine, improved shelf-life
and quality of fruits and vegetables (Mehta et al, 1986;
Padhmanabhan et al, 1994; Bhagwan, 1998).  Salts of
calcium have been shown to inhibit ethylene production and,
thus, delay ripening (Al-Ani and Richardson, 1985). Fruits
treatment with calcium prevented post-harvest losses in ber
and pear (Siddiqui and Gupta, 1988). In addition to this, a
few growth regulators are believed to promote shelf-life of
papaya fruits. It is suggested that GA3 @100mg/l
significantly suppresses succinate activity of malate
dehydrogenase during post-harvest ripening of papaya and,
thus, retards ripening (Mehta et al, 1986).  Hence, the
present investigation was undertaken to study the effect of
some chemicals and growth regulators on quality, shelf-life

1Post Harvest Technology Research Station, Dr YSRHU, Venkataramannagudem

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 9(1):66-73, 2014



67

Shelf-life and quality in papaya

and storage of fruit of papaya cv. Red Lady under local
agro-climatic conditions.

MATERIAL AND METHODS
The present investigation was carried out at

Department of Post Harvest Technology, Horticultural
College and Research Institute, Venkataramannagudem,
near Tadepalligudem, APHU, West Godavari district (A.P.)
during the year 2010-11. Fruits at full maturity (characterized
by all-green and without any yellow or red colour
development) were considered.  For each treatment, ten
good fruits, free from pests and diseases, were selected
and subjected to treatment with chemicals and growth
regulators in both the experiments. Chemicals of analytical
grade, viz., calcium chloride (CaCl2) and calcium nitrate
(CaNO3) @ 1%, 2%, 3% and 4%, and growth regulators,
viz., gibberellic acid (GA) @75mg/l, 100mg/l, 150 mg/l, and
200 mg/l, and, benzyl adenine (BA) @ 100mg/l, 125mg/l,
150mg/l and 175mg/l, and Control (water treatment) were
used. After application of chemicals, all the fruits were
wrapped in newspaper for storage studies. Observations
on physical and physico-chemical parameters were recorded
at 0, 3rd, 6th, 9th and 12th day after chemical application.
Physical parameters studied included physiological loss in
weight (PLW), per cent fruit ripening, fruit firmness (kg
cm-2), shelf-life (days); physico-chemical parameters
included total soluble solids -TSS (%), total sugars (%),
reducing sugars (%),  acidity (%), ascorbic acid (mg/100
g), and TSS: Acid ratio. The experiment was conducted in
completely randomized design with factorial concept and
two factors, viz., chemicals or growth regulators (Factor-1)
and storage period (Factor-2), with 9 treatments replicated
thrice. Data were subjected to statistical analysis as per
Panse and Sukhatme (1985).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Physical parameters

Papaya is one of the important tropical fruit crops
grown in India. Commercial potential of this crop could not
be exploited on a large scale due to high perishability of the
fruit and poor post-harvest storage facilities. The shelf-life
of papaya fruits is relatively short compared to other tropical
fruits as a direct consequence of weak cell-wall integrity.
Experimental findings revealed that treatment of fruits with
CaCl2 @ 4% resulted in delayed ripening (41.52%) and fruits
retained their firmness upto the 12th day, which was on par

with treatment using Ca(NO3)2 @ 2% (42.82). This may be
attributed to the possibility that high concentrations of
externally added calcium inhibited induction of ripening
(Ferguson, 1984). Inhibitory effect of calcium on ethylene
synthesis, without modifying the capacity to respond to higher
concentration of ethylene, helped delay natural ripening
(Brady, 1987).  Post harvest treatment with GA3 @ 100mg/
l also resulted in minimum per cent ripening (34.39) than
with rest of the growth regulator treatments. Growth
regulators slowed down the ripening process by retarding
pre-climacteric respiration rate, thereby postponing their
climacteric peaks, compared to untreated Control fruits
(58.65). This was also reported by Gautam and Chundawat
(1989). GA3, being a growth promoter, is reported to also
have an antagonistic effect on ethylene biosynthesis (Diller,
1969) (Table 1).

Fruits treated with CaCl2 @ 4% resulted in best
retention of fruit-firmness (6.45) upto the 12th day of
observation, followed by the application of Ca(NO3)2@ 3%
(5.75), which was on par fruits treated with CaCl2 @ 3%
(5.93).  Among all the growth regulators used at different
concentrations, fruits treated with GA3 @ 100mg/l recorded
the highest firmness (7.92), followed by that at BA @ 150mg/
l (6.97) irrespective of the date of observation. The major
cause of loss in firmness during ripening is due to dissolution
of the cell wall and middle lamella by the action of
hydrolyzing enzymes (Hulme, 1958). Breakdown of middle
lamella (which holds the cell firmly) is brought about by the
action of pectolytic enzymes, mainly, polygalacturonase. The
inhibitory effect of Ca2+ on the process of softening may
have been due to an applicable degree of Ca2+ binding during
pectin solubilization (Shear, 1975) (Table 1).

As evident from data the lowest PLW (9.61%) was
observed with CaCl2 @ 4% which was on par with Ca(NO3)2
@ 2% (9.74%) than in rest of the treatments. Similarly,
treatment of fruits with GA3 @ 100mg/l recorded the lowest
PLW (8.84), which was on par with that in BA 150mg/l and
was significantly lower than rest of the growth regulator
treatments. Highest PLW (13.64%) was observed in Control,
which resulted in quick deterioration of fruits. This may be
due to the role of calcium on limiting electrolyte breakage
attributed to altered membrane permeability (Bangerth,
1979). Jones and Lunt (1970) contended that calcium
controlled disintegration of mitochondria, endoplasmic
reticulum and cytoplasmic membrane and, thus, helped retard
respiration (Table 1).

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 9(1):66-73, 2014



68

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.7
8

(1
8.

93
)

BA
 @

 1
50

m
g/

l
11

.4
1

(1
9.

74
)

21
.4

5
(2

7.
59

)
57

.3
8

(4
9.

24
)

77
.2

0 
(6

1.
47

)
41

.8
6

(3
9.

51
)

12
.2

7
8.

13
5.

67
1.

8
6.

97
4.

53
(1

2.
29

)
8.

30
(1

6.
74

)
10

.4
3 

(1
8.

84
)

12
.1

3
(2

0.
38

)
8.

85
(1

7.
06

)
BA

 @
 1

75
m

g/
l

15
.3

0
(2

3.
02

)
24

.3
3

(2
9.

55
)

64
.2

5
(5

3.
27

)
95

.1
5

(7
7.

27
)

49
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6
(4

5.
78

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11

.6
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4.

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1.

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6.

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70
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3.
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13
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7.
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)
12

.4
0

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0.

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13
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6
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1.
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4 

(1
8.

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Co
nt

ro
l

30
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0
(3

3.
46

)
40

.5
0

(3
9.

52
)

64
.5

0
(5

3.
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99

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 (8

4.
86

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2.
8

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9.
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)
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(2
2.

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)

11
.5

9
(1

9.
78

)
M

ea
n

14
.4

8
(2

2.
06

)
24

.4
9

(2
9.

54
)

62
.1

7
(5

2.
05

)
89

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0

(7
2.

78
)

11
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1
7.

35
4.

44
1.

66
5.

42
(1

3.
75

)
9.

16
 (1

7.
79

)
11

.2
8

(1
9.

85
)

12
.6

7
(2

1.
44

)
F 

te
st

SE
.d

CD
F 

te
st

SE
.d

CD
F 

te
st

SE
.d

CD
(P

=0
.0

5)
(P

=0
.0

5)
(P

=0
.0

5)
G

ro
w

th
*

0.
90

2.
10

*
0.

06
0.

09
*

0.
10

0.
18

re
gu

la
to

rs
 (G

)
St

or
ag

e
*

0.
68

1.
65

*
0.

50
0.

08
*

0.
09

0.
15

pe
rio

d 
(S

)
In

te
ra

ct
io

n
*

0.
57

2.
80

*
0.

80
0.

20
*

0.
19

0.
26

G
 x

 S
Va

lu
es

 in
 p

ar
en

th
es

es
 ar

e a
rc

si
ne

 tr
an

sf
or

m
ed

Ramesh et al

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 9(1):66-73, 2014



69

Fruits treated with CaCl2 @ 4% recorded the highest
shelf-life (10.67 days) over other treatments, and was on
par with Ca(NO3)2 @ 2% application (10.50 days). Among
the growth regulators applied, significantly higher shelf-life
was recorded with GA3 @100mg/l (12 days), followed by
GA3 @ 150mg/l (11.67 days) than in rest of the treatments.
Further, in both the cases, untreated fruits resulted in the
lowest shelf-life (7.33 and 8.67, respectively) (Table 2). The
most important physiological effect of GA3 is that it influences
oxidative or peroxidative enzyme activity by increasing
production of oxidative inhibitors (such as polyhydroxy
cinnamic acids) in large quantities. This may have helped
extend shelf-life of the fruits, as stated by Frenkel and Dyck
(1973).

Physico-chemical parameters

The lowest per-cent reducing sugars (7.51) was
observed with CaCl2 @ 4% whereas, the highest per cent
(8.65) was seen in untreated fruits. Similarly, fruits treated
with GA3 @ 100mg/l resulted in lowest amounts of reducing
sugars (6.78%) compared to that in the remaining treatments.
Fruits treated with CaCl2 @ 4% resulted in lowest (10.48%)
total sugars than that in rest of the treatments; whereas,
highest per cent total sugars (13.31) was observed in
untreated fruits (Table 3). In the Control, total soluble solids
(TSS) increased during ripening due to enzymatic conversion
of starch to simple sugars (Hussain et al, 2008). However,
reduction in the TSS of calcium-treated papaya may have
been due to inhibition or retardation of conversion of starch
to simple sugars (which slows down electrolytic breakage
and metabolic activity, thereby retarding ripening (Izumi and
Watada, 1994; Agar et al, 1999).

Total soluble solids (TSS) in papaya fruits increased
with an increase in storage period from the 3rd day (10.60oB)
to the 9th day (13.56oB) and, thereafter, decreased until the
12th day (12.40oB) with application of chemicals at different
days of storage.  Further, mean TSS of fruits with use of
various growth regulators also increased from the 3rd day
(8.37oB) to the 9th day (14.33oB). Thereafter, it decreased
until the 12th day (12.07oB).  The increase in TSS may be
attributed mainly to conversion of starch and other
polysaccharides to soluble forms of the sugars (Mukherjee
and Dutta, 1967). Rate of increase in TSS content was slow
in fruits treated with CaCl2 @ 4% (10.91

oB) and GA3
100mg/l (11.14oB) compared to the Control fruits (13oB).
In fruits showing higher shelf-life, TSS decreased at a slower
rate. Further, among growth regulators, fruits treated with
GA3 @ 100mg/l  had lower TSS (11.14

oB) indicating that
the ripening process slowed down. These findings are in
conformity with those of Kumbhar and Desai (1986) in
sapota.

Highest titratable acidity (0.30%) was observed in
fruits treated with CaCl2 @ 4% and lowest (0.19%) was
observed in the untreated fruits. Similarly, fruits treated with
GA3 @ 100mg/l recorded highest (0.26%) titrable acidity
than the rest of the treated fruits. Acidity decreased gradually
from the 3rd day to the 12th day in all the treatments (Table
4). Decline in acidity can be attributed to a decrease in
citric acid content during storage, as reported by Medlicott
and Thompson (1985). There was a continuous decrease in
acidity of papaya fruits with progressive storage period, as
was utilization of organic acids during respiration (Singh et
al, 1954).

Ascorbic acid content of papaya fruits treated with
CaCl2 @ 4% recorded the highest values (48.60 mg/100g
fresh weight), whereas, fruits treated with Ca(NO3)2 @ 2%
recorded a value of 47.33 which was on a par with the
former, but higher than that in Control (41.00). Similarly,
fruits treated with GA3 100mg/l resulted in highest (42.67)
ascorbic acid content than fruits treated with rest of the
growth regulators. Untreated fruits recorded the lowest value
for this (34.14) (Table 4). TSS:acid ratio of papaya fruits
treated with CaCl2 @ 4% was the lowest (55.48), whereas,
the highest ratio (79.35) was observed in untreated fruits.
This may be due to a slow hydrolysis of starch to sugars,
and, a gradual build-up of sugars in calcium-treated fruits.

Table 2. Effect of postharvest application of chemicals and growth
regulators on shelf life (in days) in papaya cv. Red Lady
Treatment Shelf life Treatment Shelf life

(in days) (in days)
CaCl2 @ 1% 9.00 GA3@75ppm 11.33
CaCl2 @ 2% 9.67 GA3@100ppm 12.00
CaCl2 @ 3% 9.33 GA3@150ppm 11.67
CaCl2 @ 4% 10.67 GA3@200ppm 10.67
Ca(NO3)2 @ 1% 9.00 BA@100ppm 11.00
Ca(NO3)2 @ 2% 10.50 BA@125ppm 10.00
Ca(NO3)2 @ 3% 8.25 BA@150ppm 9.33
Ca(NO3)2 @ 4% 9.33 BA@175ppm 10.33
Control 7.33 Control 8.67
Mean 9.34 Mean 10.56
S.Ed 0.39 S.Ed 0.20
CD (P=0.05) 0.83 CD (P=0.05) 0.44

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 9(1):66-73, 2014

Shelf-life and quality in papaya



70

Ta
bl

e 
3.

 E
ff

ec
t 

of
 p

os
t-

ha
rv

es
t 

ap
pl

ic
at

io
n 

of
 c

he
m

ic
al

s 
an

d 
gr

ow
th

 r
eg

ul
at

or
s 

on
 r

ed
uc

in
g 

su
ga

rs
, t

ot
al

 s
ug

ar
s 

an
d 

to
ta

l s
ol

ub
le

 s
ol

id
s 

in
 p

ap
ay

a 
cv

. R
ed

 L
ad

y
Re

du
ci

ng
 su

ga
rs

 (%
)

To
ta

ls
 su

ga
rs

 (%
)

To
ta

l S
ol

ub
le

 S
ol

id
s (

° B
rix

)
Tr

ea
tm

en
t

D
ay

s  
af

te
r  

tre
at

m
en

t
D

ay
s  

af
te

r  
tre

at
m

en
t

D
ay

s  
af

te
r t

re
at

m
en

t
3r

d  d
ay

6t
h 

da
y

9t
h   

da
y

12
th

 d
ay

M
ea

n
3r

d  d
ay

6t
h 

da
y

9t
h   

da
y

12
th

 d
ay

M
ea

n
3r

d   
da

y
6t

h 
da

y
9t

h  d
ay

12
th

 d
ay

M
ea

n
C

aC
l 2 

@
 1

%
5.

80
(1

3.
93

)
8.

25
 (1

6.
69

)
9.

97
(1

8.
40

)
7.

77
 (1

6.
18

)
7.

95
(1

6.
30

)
9.

05
(1

7.
51

)
11

.2
0

(1
9.

55
)

13
.4

7(
21

.5
3)

10
.9

0(
19

.2
8)

11
.1

6(
19

.4
7)

10
.6

9
13

.4
3

13
.6

5
12

.6
8

12
.6

1
C

aC
l 2 

@
 2

%
5.

62
(1

3.
71

)
8.

20
(1

6.
64

)
9.

63
(1

8.
08

)
7.

66
(1

6.
06

)
7.

78
(1

6.
12

)
8.

45
(1

6.
90

)
11

.0
8

(1
9.

44
)

13
.4

3(
21

.5
0)

10
.5

1(
18

.9
2)

10
.8

7(
19

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9)

10
.6

12
.7

6
13

.5
5

12
.6

5
12

.3
9

C
aC

l 2 
@

 3
%

5.
04

(1
2.

97
)

7.
93

(1
6.

35
)

9.
60

(1
8.

05
)

7.
52

 (1
5.

91
)

7.
52

(1
5.

82
)

8.
31

(1
6.

75
)

10
.9

7
(1

9.
34

)
13

.3
0(

21
.3

9)
10

.3
2(

18
.7

4)
10

.7
3(

19
.0

5)
10

.5
1

12
.5

4
13

.5
4

12
.3

4
12

.2
3

C
aC

l 2 
@

 4
%

5.
03

(1
2.

96
)

7.
16

(1
5.

52
)

8.
70

(1
7.

15
)

7.
51

(1
5.

90
)

7.
10

 (1
5.

38
)

8.
30

(1
6.

74
)

10
.8

1
(1

9.
19

)
12

.2
5(

20
.4

9)
10

.2
5(

18
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7)
10

.4
0(

18
.7

7)
10

.4
12

.0
4

13
.0

5
12

.1
5

11
.9

1
Ca

(N
O

3) 2
 @

 1
%

5.
10

(1
3.

05
)

8.
60

(1
7.

05
)

9.
80

(1
8.

24
)

7.
79

(1
6.

21
)

7.
82

(1
6.

14
)

8.
90

 (1
7.

36
)

11
.8

6
(2

0.
14

)
13

.2
2(

21
.3

2)
11

.5
1 

(1
9.

83
)

11
.3

7(
19

.6
6)

10
.6

1
12

.2
13

.5
4

11
.8

5
12

.0
5

Ca
(N

O
3) 2

 @
 2

%
5.

02
  (

12
.9

5)
8.

05
(1

6.
48

)
9.

63
(1

8.
08

)
7.

58
 (1

5.
97

)
7.

57
(1

5.
87

)
8.

60
(1

7.
05

11
.9

8
(2

0.
25

)
12

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1(

20
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7)
11

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19
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11

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19
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2)
10

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6

12
.0

7
13

.1
5

12
.2

2
11

.9
8

Ca
(N

O
3) 2

 @
 3

%
5.

80
(1

3.
93

)
8.

69
(1

7.
14

)
9.

85
(1

8.
29

)
7.

82
(1

6.
24

)
8.

04
(1

6.
40

)
9.

40
(1

7.
85

)
12

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8

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1.

12
)

13
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4(
21

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2)

11
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20

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6)

11
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20

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4)

10
.4

5
13

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2

13
.6

8
12

.2
2

12
.4

2
Ca

(N
O

3) 2
 @

 4
%

5.
90

(1
4.

06
)

8.
80

(1
7.

25
)

10
.1

3
(1

8.
56

)
7.

88
(1

6.
30

)
8.

18
(1

6.
54

)
9.

70
 (1

8.
14

)
12

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6

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0.

41
)

13
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8(
21

.4
5)

12
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9(
20

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2)

11
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8(
20

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3)

10
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5
12

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13

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2

12
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12
.3

4
Co

nt
ro

l
6.

57
(1

4.
85

)
9.

47
(1

7.
92

)
10

.5
6

(1
8.

96
)

7.
98

(1
6.

41
)

8.
65

(1
7.

03
)

10
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18

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13
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(2

1.
56

)
13

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21
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12

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20
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0)
12

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2(

20
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8)
11

13
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5
14

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12

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5

13
M

ea
n

5.
54

(1
3.

60
)

8.
35

(1
4.

95
)

9.
76

(1
6.

17
)

7.
72

 (1
6.

13
)

9.
02

(1
7.

47
)

11
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3(
20

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1)

13
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2 
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1.
32

)
11

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1(

19
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4)
10

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12

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5

13
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6
12

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F 
te

st
SE

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CD

 (P
=0

.0
5)

F 
te

st
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CD

 (P
=0

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5)

F 
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 (P
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0.
41

*
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0.

14

G
A

3 
@

75
m

g/
l

4.
53

(1
2.

29
)

7.
95

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6.

38
)

8.
32

 (1
6.

76
)

6.
85

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5.

17
)

6.
91

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5.

15
)

8.
24

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68
)

11
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11
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11

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19
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11

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7

13
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3
11

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7

11
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1
G

A
3 
@

10
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l

4.
50

(1
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25
)

7.
81

(1
6.

23
)

8.
07

 (1
6.

50
)

6.
74

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5.

05
)

6.
78

 (1
5.

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)

7.
81

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6.

23
)

11
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21
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11

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4 

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19

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2

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81

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67
)

8.
18

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62
)

9.
11

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7.

57
)

7.
09

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5.

44
)

7.
30

 (1
5.

57
)

7.
87

 (1
6.

29
)

12
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3
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)
13

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3 

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1.

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11

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29
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4

13
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6
11

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3

11
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3
G

A
3 
@

20
0m

g/
l

4.
89

(1
2.

77
)

8.
27

(1
6.

71
)

9.
15

(1
7.

61
)

7.
12

(1
5.

47
)

7.
36

 (1
5.

64
)

8.
50

 (1
6.

95
)

12
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4
(2

0.
48

)
13

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4(

21
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6)
11

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8 

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9.

98
)

11
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4(
19

.7
9)

8.
3

13
.4

2
14

.2
12

.3
8

12
.0

8
BA

 @
 1

00
m

g/
l

5.
37

 (1
3.

40
)

8.
74

(1
7.

19
)

9.
65

(1
8.

10
)

7.
76

(1
6.

17
)

7.
88

 (1
6.

22
)

8.
30

(1
6.

74
)

11
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1
(1

9.
92

)
13

.0
2(

21
.1

5)
11

.7
8

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=0

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te

st
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te

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)

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or

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d 
(S

)
*

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Va
lu

es
 in

 p
ar

en
th

es
es

 a
re

 a
rc

si
ne

 tr
an

sf
or

m
e

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 9(1):66-73, 2014

Ramesh et al



71

Ta
bl

e 
4.

 E
ff

ec
t 

of
 p

os
t-

ha
rv

es
t 

ap
pl

ic
at

io
n 

of
 c

he
m

ic
al

s 
an

d 
gr

ow
th

 r
eg

ul
at

or
s 

on
 t

it
ra

bl
e 

ac
id

it
y,

 a
sc

or
bi

c 
ac

id
 a

nd
 T

SS
:A

ci
d 

ra
ti

o 
in

 p
ap

ay
a 

cv
. R

ed
 L

ad
y

T
it

ra
bl

e 
ac

id
it

y 
(%

)
A

sc
or

bi
c 

ac
id

 (
m

g/
10

0g
)

T
SS

:A
ci

d 
ra

ti
o

T
re

at
m

en
t

D
ay

s 
 a

ft
er

  
tr

ea
tm

en
t

D
ay

s 
 a

ft
er

  
tr

ea
tm

en
t

D
ay

s 
 a

ft
er

  
tr

ea
tm

en
t

3r
d  d

ay
6t

h 
da

y
9t

h   
da

y
12

th
 d

ay
M

ea
n

3r
d   

da
y

6t
h 

da
y

9t
h  d

ay
12

th
 d

ay
M

ea
n

3r
d   

da
y

6t
h 

da
y

9t
h  d

ay
12

th
 d

ay
M

ea
n

C
aC

l 2
 @

 1
%

0.
30

(3
.1

4)
0.

23
(2

.7
5)

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18

(2
.4

3)
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17
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6)

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22

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2.

64
N

S
  

-
  

-
V

al
ue

s 
in

 p
ar

en
th

es
es

 a
re

 a
rc

si
ne

 t
ra

ns
fo

rm
ed

J. Hortl. Sci.
Vol. 9(1):66-73, 2014

Shelf-life and quality in papaya



72

Among the growth regulators tested, fruits treated with GA3
@ 100mg/l resulted in lowest TSS:acid ratio (55.47), and
untreated fruits had a value of 68.90. TSS:acid ratio of
papaya fruits recorded a gradual increase with increasing
storage period. The increase in TSS:acid ratio can be
attributed to starch breakdown, resulting in free sugars, and,
a decline in organic acids due to their consumption during
respiration (Ghafir et al, 2009). The decline in TSS:acid ratio
in calcium-treated papaya may be due to a retardation in
TSS levels by calcium but the retention of acidity at high
levels (Mahajan et al, 2008). Further, a gradual decline in
TSS:acid ratio was recorded with increasing CaCl2
concentration. These results are in agreement with findings
of Rajkumar et al (2005) in papaya and Goud (1979) in
sapota.

It is concluded that chemicals such as CaCl2 @ 4%
have proved their beneficial impact on shelf-life of papaya
fruits upto 10.67 days without any loss in either physical or
physico-chemcial properties. Similarly, application of the
growth regulator GA3 @ 100mg/l also increased shelf-life
in papaya fruits upto 12 days, with the best physical and
physico-chemical attributes.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The authors express their gratitude to Dr. YSR

Horticultural University, Venkataramannagudem, West
Godavari district, Andhra Pradesh for providing financial
assistance and facilities for research work during post
graduation studies in the year 2010-2011.

REFERENCES
Agar, I.T., Massanti, R., Hess-Pierce, B. and Kader, A.A.

1999. Post harvest CO2 and ethylene production and
quality maintenance of fresh cut kiwi fruit slices. J.
Food Sci., 64:433-440

Al-Ani, A.M. and Richardson, D.G. 1985. Effect of calcium
and nitrogen on respiration and ethylene evolution of
Anjour pear fruits. Iraqi J. Agril. Sci. Zanco., 3:81-
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Shelf-life and quality in papaya