Studies on enhancing the keeping quality of peach (Prunus persica Bausch) Cv. Elberta by gamma-irradiation

The effect of gamma-irradiation on keeping quality of peach fruit was studied. The fruit, after harvesting at proper maturity stage, was irradiated in the dose range of 1.0–2.0 kGy, stored under ambient (temp. 25±2 °C, RH 70%) and refrigerated (temp. 3±1 °C, RH 80%) conditions and evaluated periodically for firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), anthocyanins, water-soluble pectic fractions, loss in weight and decay percentage. The anthocyanin evaluation of the fruits revealed that irradiation enhanced the colour development under both the storage conditions. The gamma-irradiation dose range of 1.2–1.4 kGy proved effective in maintaining higher TSS concentration, reducing weight loss and significantly (p⩽0.05) delaying the decaying of the fruit by 6 days under ambient conditions and by 20 days under refrigerated storage conditions.