Effects of Hexanal Based Formulation on Shelf Life of Strawberry (Fragaria x ananassaDuch.)

We evaluated the role of ‘Enhanced Freshness Formulation’ (EFF) having hexanal as the main component on shelf life enhancement of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) cv. Sweet Charlie. Hexanal based Enhanced Freshness Formulation was sourced from Centre for Agricultural Nanotechnology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore. After crop harvest, a laboratory experiment in completely randomized design was done at ambient temperature (about 22-30°C) with 5-treatments (dipping of freshly harvested berries in hexanal of varying strengths)viz., 1 % hexanal for 2.5 min (V1), 1% hexanal for 5 min (V2), 2% hexanal for 2.5 min (V3) and 2% hexanal for 5 min (V4). Undipped berries were considered as control treatment (V5). Fruit firmness, shelf life, physiological loss in weight, decay loss and anthocyanin content were studied. The study revealed that dipping the berries in 2% hexanal for 2.5 min proved most effective to prolong the shelf life of strawberry. Maximum shelf life (5.90 days) and fruit firmness (5.88 N mm-1) were obtained in the most efficacious treatment, thereby extending the marketing period.