Effect of modified atmosphere packaging on shelf life extension of litchi fruit

Abstract:

Imagine a litchi grower in Rajasthan watching half the harvest turn brown within 48 hours of picking—that’s the reality without effective post-harvest intervention. This research evaluated six packaging treatments—including low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), polypropylene (PP), and a modified atmosphere (MAP) with 5% O₂ + 10% CO₂—for extending the shelf life of litchi (cv. Shahi) at ambient storage (32±4 °C) and cold storage (4±1 °C) at Bhagwant University, Ajmer, during 2022–23. A completely randomized design with four replications was used. MAP treatment (5% O₂ + 10% CO₂) in LDPE 50 µm pouches extended shelf life to 8 days at ambient and 21 days at cold storage, compared with 2 days and 7 days for unpacked controls. Weight loss was reduced from 18.7% to 6.3%, and decay incidence from 42.3% to 11.7% at day 8 under ambient conditions. Sensory acceptance scores remained above 7.0 (out of 9) in MAP-treated fruit at day 6. These results confirm that MAP with optimized gas composition significantly delays pericarp browning and extends marketable life of litchi.