Influence of calcium chloride on storability and quality of apple fruits

The influence of calcium chloride treatment on storability of three apple cultivars (royal gala,mondial gala and golden delicious) harvested at commercial maturity stage,from the orchards at matta,swat was examined. the fruits were treated with 0 and 9% cacl2 solution for the period of 12 minutes and stored for 150 days at 5±1°c with 60-70% relative humidity. after storage,apple cultivar royal gala had the highest ascorbic acid (12.88 mg/100g) and the least bitter pit (2.92%). mondial gala had the maximum titratable acidity (0.54%). total soluble solids (tss),total sugar,tss/acid ratio and bitter pit increased while,starch,titratable acidity and ascorbic acid declined during storage. the application of cacl2 significantly decreased tss (10.92%) total sugar (10.50%),tss/acid ratio (21.69) and bitter pit (1.03 %),while a starch score (5.49),titratable acidity (0.53%) and ascorbic acid (12.97 mg/100g) increased with cacl2 treatment. © 2015,university of agriculture. all right reserved.