Effect of packaging and storage environments on quality and shelf-life of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum)

Bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) fruits of cultivar Indra were harvested at bright green colour stage and packed in different packaging films, viz. heat shrinkable film (15µ), cling film (15µ) and low density polyethylene film (LDPE 25µ). After packaging, the fruits were stored under two different conditions, i.e. super-market conditions (18-20°C; 90-95% RH) and ordinary market conditions (28-30°C; 60-65% RH). The shrink and cling film significantly checked the loss in weight, firmness and decay incidence and maintained various qualities attributes like ascorbic acid, chlorophyll content and overall sensory quality of the fruits during shelf-life better than unwrapped control fruits. The in-pack bell pepper in shrink and cling film created a suitable headspace environment with desired level of O2 and CO2 concentrations, which resulted in a better retention of freshness of the vegetable for its marketability. On the other hand, LDPE film accumulated very high level of CO2, which led to formation of fermenting odour and decay of fruits. The data revealed that shrink and cling film proved quite effective in prolonging the shelf-life of bell pepper fruits for 10 and 7 days under super market conditions and ordinary market conditions, respectively, as against 5 and 2 days only in case of unpacked control fruits.