Physico-chemical and enzymatic changes in peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) fruit in response to sodium salts during low temperature storage

‘Shan-i-Punjab’ is a leading cultivar of peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) in Punjab. After harvesting peach fruits cannot be stored for a longer period under ambient conditions. To prolong the post-harvest life of fruits, an experiment was conducted during the year 2014. Physiological mature fruits of peach cv. Shan-i-Punjab were harvested and subjected to various post-harvest dip treatments viz. sodium bicarbonate (@ 0.5 and 1%), sodium benzoate (@ 0.5 and 1%) for 5 mins. Treated and untreated (control) fruits were packed in Corrugated fibre board CFB boxes and kept under low temperature storage conditions (0-10 C and 90-95% RH) for 6 weeks. Stored fruits were analyzed for various physico-chemical characteristics after 2, 4, 5 and 6 weeks of storage. Fruits treated with 0.5% sodium bicarbonate showed better results in terms low PLW (5.05%), high palatability rating (7.66), TSS (11.26%), acidity (0.70%) and PME activity (1.28 ml of 0.02N NaOH used) upto 4 weeks of storage as compared to control. It can be concluded that peach fruits of the cultivar Shan-i-Punjab treated with sodium bicarbonate @ 0.5% can be safely stored upto 4 weeks with acceptable quality under low temperature conditions.