Effect of <em>Aloe vera</em> gel coating on market quality of capsicum

Capsicum (Capsicum annum L.) is a common vegetable commercially grown in Sri Lanka and experiences high postharvest loss. This research was carried out to improve the shelf-life and quality of capsicum by coating Aloe vera gel. Capsicums (var. Muria 385 F1) fruits were coated with three different concentrations of Aloe vera (AV) gel coating mixtures; 30, 50 and 70%, and the control samples were treated with 100% distilled water. The AV gel-coated capsicum fruits were stored in cardboard corrugated boxes at 10±20C and 85-90% relative humidity. Product weight loss, fruit firmness, total soluble solid content (TSS%), ascorbic acid content, color change, disease incidence (DI), disease severity (DS) of overall all bacterial and fungal diseases, and marketability were assessed at 5-day intervals for a duration of 20 days. Among the coating concentrations, 30%- AV coated samples showed the lowest physiological weight loss (10.85±0.54%), highest fruit firmness (66.0±4.2 N), lowest TSS content (5±0.4%), minor colour variation, along with the lowest DI (13±5.8%), median DS (7) values and highest marketability (80±4.8%). The highest ascorbic acid concentration value (37±3.1 mg/100 g) showed 50%-AV gel coating treatment at the end of the storage period of 20 days. This study concluded that 30% was the optimal AV gel-coating for extending the shelf-life and minimizing the postharvest loss of capsicum fruits during the storage of 20 days.